"Though the Bible never uses the word guidance , it does talk about a Guide. You may seek guidance, but God desires to give something better: Himself. The point I am making is a profound one. It is more than a play on words.
And deep in your heart it is a guide, even more than guidance, that you want. Which would you prefer to have while driving in heavy traffic through a strange city, a complicated set of instructions from someone one the sidewalk or a kindly stranger who says, 'Look, I'm on my way there right now. If you'll let me hop in, I'll show you the way'? If you are a new student on a large campus, dizzy and bewildered by the complexities of registration, it is help from the fellow student who is willing to take you round the counts, not the campus map or the written guide book.
Horoscopes fail not only because they are vague, inaccurate and sometimes evil, but because they are impersonal. There is no on to discuss matters with, no one to take your hand. For you as a Christian, guidance is meant to be an aspect of your ongoing relationship with God. He wants you to know him. Being guided by him is part of that.
Already you must have perceived that there are at least two elements in guidance that are inseparable in experience: direction and support. I may inquire for Smith Street. On the surface I am requesting a set of directions. But beneath the surface I am anxious. I am lost. My uncertainty about where I am, whether I can get where I want to in time, whether I can understand and follow directions accurately all make me crave reassurance. It will sound foolish if I say, 'Are you sure I am going to be able to get there all right?' Yet if I were a child, and not a man, that is just what I might say.
'My sheep hear my voice,' says Jesus, 'and I know them, and they follow me' (John 10:27). It is not only direction but also the reassurance of his presence that is promised. 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest' God told Moses (Exodus 33:14).
'How very infantalizing,' some of my psychiatric colleagues would respond. 'The Christian seems to be reduced to perpetual dependency. He never becomes mature enough to take responsibility for his personal decisions. Not only does he have to be told what to do but he needs someone who will hold his hand while he does it.'
Dependency: Yes. Infantalization: No. Like all human beings you are basically dependent, you were created to be so. Man was never meant to have the kind of maturity which makes him independent of God. Through all eternity you will bow the knee to him and rejoice over the sweet comfort of his presence.
But you will mature. Although maturity and the capacity to be independent are related, they are not synonymous. As you mature both the kind of relationship you have with God and the type of guidance you will require of him will change. You will grow more loving and trusting. You will more often know, without needing to ask, what he would have you do because you will know him and that manner of his thoughts.
In order to understand how this can be so, you must grasp two things about the nature of divine guidance: First, God has an overall goal for your life; second, God's goal is a moral goal. His plan for you has less to do with geography than with ethics. His supreme object is to make you like his Son (Romans 8:29). Whether the process of making what he wants of you involves travel, money, joy, pain or whatever is secondary. His goal is to make you holy, and the kind of guidance he will give you will reflect this.
It is precisely at this point that you may have problems. Usually when we want guidance, we have in the back of our minds some overall objective toward which we are striving. I may ask you to direct me to Smith Street, but my real object is to find a certain doctor who can cure me of cancer. Similarly I may want to know whether I should apply for job A or job B, but in the back of my mind I am really struggling with vague goals which have to do with happiness, 'success' or even money.
Thus when we ask God for guidance, we may have one goal in mind while he has another. We may not therefore be interested in the kind of guidance he has to offer.
It is not that the two kinds of goal (geographical and moral) are unrelated. Geography and ethics go together. Generally when I want to decide between Chicago and New York, there will be some moral aspect to my decision. Perhaps I promised to go to New York, but it will be more financially rewarding to go to Chicago. And if I may put it this simply, God is less worried about whether I make a mistake about the geography than about the morality. It matters less that I wind up in the wrong city than that I make a wrong moral choice." pgs 154-157
- John White
from: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fight-Practical-Handbook-Christian/dp/0877847770/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362720457&sr=8-1&keywords=john+white+the+fight
No comments:
Post a Comment