By B.J. Clarke
Modern technology is indeed a marvel. I was browsing at a local electronics store when a salesman began describing the various features of the portable GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) units on display. He explained, “You just type in your destination, and no matter where you are the GPS unit identifies your point of origin and calculates the route you need to arrive at your final destination. You can program your home address into the unit and then, no matter where you are, the push of one button will tell you how to get home.” He then chuckled and said, “If you make a wrong turn, the GPS unit will tell you that you are going the wrong way. Finally, when you get to where you are going, a voice from the GPS unit will announce, ‘You have reached your final destination.’”
As I listened, the preacher in me began seeing all kinds of spiritual parallels. As human beings, all of us are on a journey to somewhere. But where are we going? What will be our final destination? Is death the end or means to an end? Will we live somewhere beyond the grave? If so, where will we live and how will we get there? What if we make a wrong turn on our journey? If we get lost on our journey, can we find our way back?
All of these questions raise an even greater question: is there any source to which we can we turn to find the definitive answers to the questions of life? Can the answers be found in the philosophies of men? Does the field of science hold the answers? As much as we respect true science, what could a scientist say over an open grave that would comfort the loved ones left behind? No laboratory test in the world can produce the answers to the questions regarding the final destination of mankind!
So, is there any objective standard to which we may turn for these answers? When it comes to earthly travels there is an objective standard by which to determine whether we are headed in the right direction. If I wish to travel by automobile from Nashville, Tennessee to Seattle, Washington, I can get in the car and just drive in the direction of my feelings, or I can consult an accurate roadmap (or GPS system), and follow the recorded instructions. If I am traveling by air, then I must check-in at the proper gate and board the right plane in order to reach my final destination. One gate/plane is not as good as another if I hope to reach the correct destination.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. As I journey toward my final destination, there is an objective standard by which to determine whether I am headed in the right direction. I don’t have to guess at where I am going. I have a standard that will lead me home. Years ago, I visited a church member whose house was located in a remote, rural area. There were numerous twists and turns on the road to her house. Although I was new to the area, I successfully located her house, arriving about twilight. By the time I left it was completely dark. As I started toward home, I made a wrong turn at some point. As I tried to feel my way back to the right road, one wrong turn led to another. Soon, I was so lost that I couldn’t even find my way back to her house to start all over. I did not own a cell phone in those days and there were no public phones available. I did not have a local map with me. There were very few streetlights on the road I was traveling and I began to feel very uneasy in the darkness of the night. I had lost my way and had no idea how to get home.
Then I spotted them. Against the dark sky I noticed two towers of beaming red lights. I immediately recognized them as the towers of a local television station. Moreover, I knew that these towers were just a few blocks from where I lived. I realized that if I just kept driving toward these beacons of light that I would eventually be able to find my way home. Those lights served as guideposts to reaching my final destination—home, sweet home!
Fortunately, as we journey toward our final and eternal destination, we do not have to grope in the darkness and follow the uncertainty of our feelings (Prov. 14:12; 16:25; Jer. 10:23). We have sources of light to guide us home. The Psalmist said unto God, “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” (Psa. 43:3). The Word of God is a source of light and truth for our journey. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path…The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psa. 119:105, 130).
You could say that the Bible is a God Provided Source of light to direct us to our final destination. The Bible identifies our point of origin by shedding light on where we came from (Gen. 1:26). If man came into existence by mere happenstance and accidental processes, then he has no real purpose in life and no real hope beyond this life. On the other hand, if man is the product of a Divine Creator, and the Bible is His Word, then we have a roadmap for life’s journey.
The Bible also sheds light on what we are doing here. Our task is to fear God and keep His commandments (Eccl. 12:13). “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life (Prov. 6:23). We should thus let our lights so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify God in heaven (Matt. 5:16). The Bible is the best GPS system for life’s journey because “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Bible is the best GPS system for life’s journey because it depicts the life of the light of the world, Jesus Christ (John 8:12). He truly is “the light of men” (John 1:4) and if we follow His footsteps we will never find ourselves in darkness or off course (John 3:19-21; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6).
The Bible also sheds light on where we are going. According to Jesus, there are two possible final destinations. There is the broad way, which leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13). This place of everlasting fire and punishment (Matt. 25:41, 46) is called hell (Mark 9:43-47). Although this road is the road most traveled, there is another way. It is a narrow way, but it leads unto eternal life (Matt. 7:14; 25:46). This place of everlasting joy is called heaven (Matt. 25:21; Col. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:4). Ultimately, the Bible is the best GPS for reaching the final destination of heaven, because it is the one and only roadmap that contains the Gospel Plan of Salvation. Although all have sinned and are thus lost, the Bible reveals the step we must travel to reach a heavenly home. We must turn from unbelief to belief in Jesus as the Christ (John 8:24). We must turn from sin (Acts 17:30) and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37).
The final step in the Gospel Plan of Salvation is to be baptized into Christ so that His blood may wash our sins away (Rom. 6:3-4; Rev. 1:5; Acts 22:16). This is the entrance ramp to the narrow way that leads to the final destination of heaven. Once we turn right to get on this road we must stay straight (1 Cor. 15:58) until we hear the Savior announce that we have reached our final destination. As you travel toward your final destination, where will you be when you get where you are going?