The police in a small Polish town were stunned when they heard a mini-bus driver screaming on a cell phone that his bus was sinking into a lake, and he and his passengers were trapped inside! While far away in the English countryside, a young lady was feeding her horses when she saw a woman drive her Mercedes car straight into a river! The raging current in the swollen river grabbed the car and spun it around, as the woman screamed and kicked at the windows trying to get out.
There is something alike in both stories. But first, have you ever heard of a Global Positioning System, sometimes called a GPS? Many cars now have this device. It helps the driver find his way in unfamiliar areas. The GPS figures out a set of driving directions and displays it on a map on the driver’s dashboard or sometimes announces driving directions out loud. A GPS is very helpful for lots of people, and they count on it to find their way. However, sometimes the directions it gives are not updated and are wrong!
The mini-bus driver had been driving down a road, following directions from his GPS. When he passed the first warning sign that the road ahead was closed, he ignored it. It was nighttime and he was unable to see the flooded road ahead. The police later reported that the road had been closed for a year and that the driver ignored three signs, warning the road dead-ended at a lake. The frantic calls from the driver brought police and rescue crews racing to the scene. Upon arrival, they could see the top of the bus far out in the water with three people seated on the roof. They had managed to climb out a window of the sinking mini-bus before the window was entirely blocked by water.
Instead of believing the three signs warning the road dead-ended at the lake, the mini-bus driver believed the out-of-date GPS directions on his dashboard and followed them right into really big trouble. If you had been the driver, would you have believed the GPS or the warning signs? Whose directions are you following right now? Sometimes friends, teachers and “experts” give instructions that don’t agree with God’s Word and that will steer you in the wrong direction. The Bible gives instructions that are completely reliable and never out of date! “Through Thy precepts [laws] I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104104Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:104)).
What happened to the woman driving her Mercedes car? She had also ignored a warning sign that told her the river ahead was not crossable by cars. It was the middle of the day when she floored the gas pedal and headed for the middle of the rain-swollen river anyway. Maybe she thought her car, which cost $150,000, could handle just about anything. After all, it had a good GPS that directed her straight ahead and had probably given her many correct directions before. The young lady feeding her horses said she saw the car bounce back and forth from one bank of the river to the other as the driver screamed and frantically kicked at the windows, trying to break them, while water poured over the top of the car. Then as water began to pour into the car, it sank completely.
Proverbs 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12) explains this driver’s story: “There is a way which [seems] right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” She believed her GPS directions and in the power of her expensive car, both of which took her on a terrifying, out-of-control spin down the river. Thankfully, the woman managed to get out of her car unharmed and was helped out of the river by the young lady who had seen it happen. The car, however, was a complete wreck and had to be pulled out of the river by a tow truck a week later.
Whose instructions are you following? Both the mini-bus driver and the Mercedes owner believed that the GPS directions were reliable and ignored the warning signs that the way ahead was closed. We know what happened. Are you one of the many people who believes what clever people around you say and don’t think you need to know what God’s Word says? God is the Maker of heaven and earth, and His directions are the only reliable ones. “Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:8989LAMED. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. (Psalm 119:89)) ... no update needed. The Bible will not give wrong directions for reaching heaven after your life here on earth is over. And it certainly won’t lead you into a trap.
Here are God’s reliable directions to heaven: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son [Christ Jesus], that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). Follow His directions, and your safe arrival is guaranteed!
ML-05/03/2009