GOD’S PERSONALIZED SERVICE

There’s widespread agreement on God’s attributes and on the way He relates to believers.  Enthroned in heaven on high He is all-knowing, guides our lives, intervenes in our affairs and is quick to forgive us when we go astray.  Billions of us humans worship Him even when their prayers go unanswered and His ways remain inscrutable, beyond human comprehension.

Can anyone or anything compare to God?  What a bizarre, even blasphemous question?  Still, I couldn’t help reflecting upon that issue as I sat behind the wheel on a recent lengthy road trip as I pondered the GPS (global positioning system) resting next to me.  Now, most of you must remember what it was like before GPS entered our lives.  You’d set out on a trip clutching an unwieldy map to which you’d refer to repeatedly, squinting to locate and follow the much meandering lines that defined your route.  Often you’d grow fearful and confused and have to pull over either to study the map more closely or to summon a passerby who might either restore your confidence or point out where you’d gone astray.  Thus, the trip almost always included many anxious moments together with numerous wrong turns and wasted time.

Today, with GPS, we’ve entered a new world.  The system, guided by orbiting satellites cruising 12,000 miles overhead, communicates directly with my receiver.  Accordingly I get immediate personalized continuous service.  Once powered up, it detects exactly where I am and, after entering my personal destination, prepares instantly to guide me there step by step.  It speaks to me constantly, informing me about turns coming up, exits to be taken and the precise mileage one must travel along each roadway.  Should I err it does not abandon me but rather it gently guides me back towards the proper path.  What comfort that brings.  It does not rest; it never leaves me short of my goal.  With the words “Arriving at your destination” it concludes its infallible service.

By now can you see why it’s possible to view the GPS with almost godlike reverence?  It occupies the heavens, but is responsive to those who call upon it here on earth.  It is all-knowing, even as its ways are mysterious and inscrutable.  It recognizes frailties and our tendency to go astray; still, it continues to guide us.  Because we believe, our faith is rewarded as we arrive unfailingly each time at our destination.

No religion is likely to form and proclaim GPS to be its revered deity, but tens of millions of motorists will doubtless agree with those who hail it as a modern day Savior.