Trusting the Tour Guide
My wife an I took a vacation to Boston. We love to travel when we can and we tend to try to see everything a person can possibly see. On our first day in Boston we walked the Freedom Trail. We could have taken a 2 hour tour (with a tour guide!), but we wanted to see it all. We wanted to do it our way. We took the better part of the morning and afternoon seeing it all. I'm not sure how far we walked, but it was miles. Near the end of the Freedom Trail you find the Bunker Hill monument. It's 294 steps up the 221 foot tall monument. That's about 22 stories after walking all day. You also have to come down the steps.
*Stair number 200 in the climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.
Once we got outside, my legs were so weak that I was wobbly. I had to stop and gather myself, but it was only about 4pm and we had the USS Constitution, the Boston Public Library, and Cheers to see that day. So we kept going. In the middle of the evening tour of the Boston Library, I realized that I couldn't walk down any of the steps. I was holding onto rails and "floating down." It was the same trying to go down the stairs to the subway. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be injured for the rest of our trip!
Many of us are striving to accomplish so many things in life. We want money, power, relationships, things for our family. We strive after it all and never slow down. I didn't want to use a tour guide because I wanted it all. To be fair, the tour guides do a shorter version, and might have left out some of the more subtle or less prominent details.
And just like our hesitance to avail ourselves of the expertise and expedience of the tour guide, we often tend to assume (wrongly) that God, as well, may give us the "less than ideal tour." Afterall, we tend to "want it all" and not necessarily want what is "best."
Psalm 46:10 says "be still" or "cease striving" and "know that I AM God."
Once you stop long enough to know God, you begin to understand that following the Holy Spirit is better than striving after all the things you think you need, and you discover what you are truly created for.
Backseat Driver
Have you ever had the experience of travelling to a foreign destination, only to have the locals swamp you with offers to guide you to all the best attractions. It's a fairly common occurrance. Of course, you'll want to do your homework to be sure your local guide is honest and trustworthy. If so, you invite them into the vehicle to guide and direct your journey. In most cases, it's a win-win -- the local makes a little extra money, and you end up getting the tour of a lifetime.
Because of their intimate knowledge of the locale, they are able to guide you to all the best areas to visit, as well as warn you about which areas to avoid because of the danger to tourists. It's tough, though, to follow the directions of a stranger. With a guide book in one hand, and GPS in the other, we are often confident that we could make as good or better decisions about how to proceed, especially when the local guide suggests you veer off the beaten path.
He might direct you to take an unmarked dirt road, or to push hard up the side of a steep hill. He might direct you to step out of the vehicle all together and into a dense forest or crowed plaza.
As the driver, of course, you have the last say of where to go. But if you've done your homework and have full confidence in your guide, you'll end up with some great pictures and great experiences in places you'd never find in your commercial tour book.
God is just such a trusted guide. He knows the way. When we put our trust in Him, He will take us to see things we wouldn't see otherwise. He will guide us from trouble and keep us on a path that is safe. When we choose to go our own way, who knows what trouble we could endure or what beauty we might miss along the way.
So lean into the ride. Resist the temptation to jerk the wheel in the opposite direction.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8, ESV).
Just Drop the Blanket
Each Christmas for the past nearly six decades, Americans have gathered around the TV to watch one of the most iconic and beloved cartoon animations of all time, A Charlie Brown Christmas. And within this iconic show, is one of the most iconic scenes ever scripted -- Linus' monologue about the true meaning of Christmas.
Mocked, humiliated, and confused, Charlie Brown cries out, "Doesn't anybody know what Christmas is all about?!"
Linus gently replies, "I know what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." And with that He takes center stage to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel as recorded in Luke Chapter Two:
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
But have you ever noticed what happens right in the middle of that monologue? Linus drops his blanket!
Jason Soroski, writing for The Gospel Coalition, has this to say ...
Linus is most associated with his ever-present security blanket. Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up.
Until this moment. When he simply drops it.
In that climactic scene when Linus shares what “Christmas is all about,” he drops his security blanket, and I am now convinced that this is intentional. Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words “fear not” (at :44 seconds).
Soroski continues ...
... it’s pretty clear what Charles Schulz was saying through this, and it’s so simple it’s brilliant.
The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.
The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves.
The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to him instead. ...
... in the midst of fear and insecurity, this simple cartoon image from 1965 continues to live on as an inspiration for us to seek true peace and true security in the one place it has always been and can always still be found.
And where is that? In Christ alone!
Won't you join Linus? Lean into the manger. Behold the gift of the Savior. And drop the blanket!