So, there are hundreds of "life is like..." comparisons. .
Forrest Gump: life is like a box of chocolates, your never know what you'll get.
Albert Einstein: life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance you have to keep moving.
My grandmother: life is like a tea bag, it isn't worth much until it's in some hot water.
Lucy: life is like traveling on a cruise ship. Some people unfold their deck chair on the
back of the ship to see where they've been; some people unfold their deck chair at
mid-ship to see where they are; and some people unfold their deck chair at the front
of the ship to see where they are going. Charlie Brown said he was still trying to
unfold his deck chair.
Unknown: life is like an elevator. On your way up sometimes you have to stop and let
some people off.
My personal take is that life is like driving a car, with many resulting distinctions. So, that will be the drill this week, reflecting on five of them. Each will begin with a presumptive statement to make the life/car connection.
Presumptive Statement 1:
Life is like driving a car. If you don't have a destination, you'll never get there.
Scripture Reference: Joshua 24: 15, ESV
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Israel took many wrong turns in their journey to occupy the land God had given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the nation. As God finally prepared Joshua to lead them into the Land of Promise he told them they needed to settle the matter of their destination once and for all. They had wandered aimlessly in the wilderness for forty years. In this verse God narrowed their choices to three spiritual decisions: they could travel the way of their past; their destination could be dictated by the world around them; or, they could they could live the victorious life God had planned for them. There were, of course, many requirements in this directional course, principles and precepts of submission, faith, and obedience. Just the same, he had promised them all they would need to live the life he had planned for them. His destination was clear. So were his counsel and guidance and provision.
Many cultural observers would agree that Americans are living in wavering, uncertain times. The recent election magnified our political division and few will argue that our spiritual status nationally is less defined than any time in our history. Even in the evangelical Christian community there are few distinct lines of belief. Strategists affirm a time of spiritual grayness where most of us believe a little of this and a little of that. Meaning that, we're adrift.
The answer? Well, there are many. Prayer is a strong unifying point. Every day I am reminded of the counsel God gave the historian---
"...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7: 14, ESV
On a more personal level, there are the words God gave to Joshua. Each of us must choose our destination in life. Without a destination, we will never get there.
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