GPS

 

Photo by Ximonic, Simo Räsänen, 2010

Back in the day when GPS, or global positioning system, became popular, I had mixed feelings about this new technology that could map your position anywhere on earth using coordinates. On the one hand, it was reassuring to know that my car could be located in the event that I got stranded in an accident in a remote place. Yet it evoked suspicion of Big Brother watching me wherever I went, compromising my privacy even though I had nothing to hide. 

Those were the days when motoring associations still issued trip planners, or booklets with a separate page for each leg of a proposed road trip, giving directions, a map, mileage and fuel costs, and even sightseeing attractions, restaurants, and lodging along the route. Yet to be fully effective, using these required a navigator who would read the (often unclear) directions to the driver, both of whom were too preoccupied with getting from point A to point B to be able to relax and enjoy the journey. 

As computer technology took quantum leaps forward, the directionally challenged such as myself could depend on Alexa, a virtual assistant, whose consistently calm and steady voice would give us directions, allowing us to keep both hands on the wheel and to focus on the traffic and sights we might encounter. 

I remember an episode of the sitcom “The Office” in which the disorganized boss and his obsessive-compulsive employee were taking a road trip. Free-spirited Michael wanted to wing it rather than follow directions, which was the pattern of his life, while Dwight insisted on rigidly obeying every GPS command, even as it led his new car straight into a swamp. 

“Back up 3 feet and proceed to the route,” intoned the pleasant, ever calm voice, while Michael waved his arms in desperation. 

Now that GPS-directed travel has become routine, my husband and I still disagree about its optimal use. When we are meeting our son for dinner downtown, my husband wants to take the usual highway route because it’s familiar and he knows the way. But I prefer him to use GPS, because it sees the whole traffic, construction, and accident situation and can route us around any obstacles or delays. 

Most of the time I win, but as soon as Alexa has us looping through back streets in what appear to be pointless circles, my husband gets aggravated and wants to go his own preferred way. 

“Well, there’s no sense in using Alexa if you’re not going to trust what she says,” I protest. Usually he gives in to the two female voices in the car – mine chiding and a bit impatient, while Alexa maintains her unruffled calm. At least until we pull over for gas or a pit stop, at which point she keeps repeating “Proceed to the route.” Even the most unimpassioned voice can seem annoyingly insistent when the message does not change! 

But Alexa prevails in the end, and we arrive at the restaurant safely, having made the best possible time thanks to a minimum of traffic delays. 

It reminded me that God is our unfailing GPS, our navigational system throughout life, keeping us on the best path even if that involves unexpected twists and turns. Once we are born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), His Holy Spirit enters our heart (2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:3; Galatians 4:6). His still, small, voice is always there, if we choose to listen (1 Kings 19:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30). 

How reassuring, and yet sometimes how terrifying, to know that we can never escape God’s watchful eye. Wherever we go, anywhere on earth or even into outer space, we cannot escape His faithful presence. Even more profoundly than the GPS, He tracks our every move, whether we are in the center of His perfect will, seated in heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6), or backslidden into the miry pit of this world (Psalm 139:1-10). 

This is a tremendous source of comfort when we are following His plan for our life. It should also be a fearsome motivator to return to Him when we know we are in disobedience, for He will chastise or even scourge His children when needed (Hebrews 12:6-11).  God has eyes and ears everywhere in the universe He created and sustains (John 1:1-3), so nothing escapes His attention. 

If Alexa directs our car into a swamp, she may be relying on outdated or inaccurate information, but God’s wisdom and knowledge are perfect, comprehensive, and complete (Proverbs 2:6; Romans 11:33; Colossians 2:3). If we listen to Him, He will keep us out of trouble and on His best path (Proverbs 3:5-6). As His vision is completely accurate and all-encompassing, His GPS could stand for "God's Perfect Sight." 

Despite her pleasant, almost sultry voice, Alexa is a computer program devoid of will or emotion, and she has no interest in our ultimate destination. Yet our God is a jealous God Who desires and deserves our full attention and loyalty (Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9), but Who loves us infinitely (1 John 4:8-9; 3:1, Romans 5:8, 8:39) and wants to bless us with His very best gifts (1 Corinthians 2:9; Ephesians 2:4; 3:19, 5:2; James 1:17). When we yield control of our journey to Him, He gives us the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), as well as the blessings of beautiful sights and sounds along the way. 

The choice is ours – we can ignore God’s voice at our own peril, relying on our own flesh to get us to where we think we want to go, or we can follow Him, willingly placing our destiny in His loving, all-powerful hand where we are safe from all dangers (John 10:28-29). 

The bumper stickers that say “Jesus Is My Copilot” have it all wrong. Don’t you want God to be in the driver’s seat?  

© 2020 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

Triplets of Promise: The Just Shall Live by Faith

 

Art by Andrey Mironov 2008

My husband and I are blessed to belong to a church that supports missionaries, who often stay at the church during Missions Conference. One of these men of God gave a message on “the just shall live by faith.” I have heard and read this verse many times, and yet hearing this dear brother from the Philippines speak it opened my heart to its meaning in ways I had not fully considered before. The first mention is in the Old Testament (Habakkuk 2:4), followed by three references to it in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians.3:11; Hebrews 10:38 ).

This verse is a clear example of triplet patterns in Scripture, for in three short words (just, live, faith) packed full of meaning it conveys a host of doctrinal truth. “Just” reminds us that no man can be justified on his own merit, for there is none that does good (Psalm 14:1,3; 53:1,3; Matthew 19:17; etc.); all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); and none even seeks after God (Romans 3:11).

Only in the Lord Jesus Christ can sinful man be made just, or holy and righteous (Romans 3:24-26). He alone justifies us, or makes us just as if we have never sinned, for our sins are debited against His account and His righteousness is credited to our account (Romans 4:6-8). Thus, when the Father looks at a born-again believer (John 3:3-8) who has trusted Christ by placing their faith in His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), He no longer sees their sin, but only the perfect holiness of His Son.

Because we are considered just in Christ, we can live! We live in Him (Galatians 2:20), abundantly (John 10:10) and eternally (John 3:16). He rose again as the firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20-23), so that we now live in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6) even as we travel this earth. Our spirit will live in His presence when our fleshly body dies (Philippians 1:21);. At the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), we shall live forever in a glorified body that will never age, get sick or die (1 Corinthians 15:35-50).

The apostle Paul tells us to die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) to our sin nature so that we may rise again to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4); to crucify our flesh to live in the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 6:8-11); and to mortify (put to death) the “old man,” with his sinful ways so that we may live as the “new man” (Ephesians 4:24), obeying, serving, and glorifying God. In Him, we live, move and have our being! (Acts 17:28)

The verse we are studying concludes that the just (in Christ) shall live (physically, mentally and spiritually) by faith. Therein lies the crux of Christianity: we are saved by God’s grace alone through our faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), as promised in His Word alone (John 6:68) and not embellished or marred by human traditions (Colossians 2:8; 1 Peter 1:18). His mercy spares us from eternal death in hell; His love sent His Son to pay the price to accomplish that (Hebrews 9:28); and His grace freely gives us everlasting life.

All we need to do is believe that God is Who He says He is; that His Son has done all that is needed to save us; and that He will do what His Word has promised He will do (Hebrews 11). Keeping the law (which is impossible), doing good works (which can never make up for our sin), and being self-righteous (which is the worst form of self-deception) cannot save us (Luke 18:9-14).

And yet, once Jesus Christ saves us, our faith comes alive to others (James 2:17-26), who see that we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), doing good works in His Name, and following His path (Matthew 16:24). We have become God’s children (1 John 3:1), joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), and together we as the church are the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27).

He has made us His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), fellow laborers (1 Corinthians 3:9), and body (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27) to go, teach and baptize (Matthew 28:19) When we live in Him, we walk in love (Ephesians 5:2), in the light (1 John 1:7), and in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25).

In the only Old Testament rendering of this verse, that the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:1-4), the prophet begins the chapter by actively waiting for God to speak, listening for His Word, and considering how to answer when God corrects Him. The Lord tells Habbakuk to write down the vision He reveals and to make it clear to others so that they will respond to it. God explains that the vision is for an appointed time but that in the end it shall speak the truth; that Habbakuk should wait for it even though it seems to be delayed, and that it will come and not tarry.

In short, Habbakuk demonstrates his faith by waiting on God, Who answers him by promising him a future vision, and Who encourages him to continue to be faithful by waiting on His perfect timing. He contrasts the self-righteous, proud, disobedient man with the just who shall live by his faith. The former drinks himself to ruin, abandons his family, and covets the wealth of others, yet he finds dissatisfaction, death and hell. But the just man lives by his faith that the Lord is in His holy temple and all the earth should be silent before Him (v. 20).

May we remember that the just shall live by faith! If we follow that creed, we shall find the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), joy in the Lord (Psalm 35:9), and the lively, glorious hope (1 Peter 1:3; Titus 2:13) of knowing that the vision of Rapture to eternal heaven will one day become reality!

© 2015 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

Every Idle Word

One night years ago, my husband Richard and I were rudely awakened from a sound sleep by the shrill ring of the phone. It was a business acquaintance of his, asking if it were true that Richard was stranded in Spain after his credit cards, cash and passport were stolen. How much money did he need to borrow, and how could she wire it to him?

Emerging from our dazed confusion, we finally pieced together that Richard’s email account had been hacked, and that the hacker had sent an email to each of my husband’s contacts, explaining the above made-up scenario and requesting a loan. Unlike most junk email and phishing scams, this one appeared to come from my husband’s correct email address and contained his name, increasing the chances that a good-hearted recipient would think it was a legitimate call for help rather than a blatant lie.

This incident reminded us that “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33); that we must avoid “corrupt communication” (Ephesians 4:29); and that we should let our “communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay” (Matthew 5:37).

Our family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who know we claim His name regard us as His representative (2 Corinthians 5:20). Even for our unsaved acquaintances, what we say therefore reflects on Him, whether rightly or wrongly. Those in positions of leadership must be especially careful not only that their speech honors Him (Colossians 4:6), but also that it is doctrinally sound and pure (Titus 2:1-8).

Our time on earth to do God’s work is limited (Job 14:1), both collectively as the body of Christ (Romans 12:5) as His return draws ever nearer, and individually, for we are not promised tomorrow (James 4:14), and we don’t know when He will call us home. The fields of unsaved souls are ripe for harvest, but laborers are few (John 4:35; Matthew 9:37).

Throughout our life once we are saved, God provides us with divine appointments to witness for Him. This may be to a stranger we will never see again, or to those who are closest to us whom we see every day. For those in positions of leadership, these appointments may occur at the pulpit, in a Bible study class, or in a music or other ministry.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains the Gospel of grace – that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (v. 1-4), that all who have faith in Him will have eternal life. He warns against “evil communications” (v. 33) with those who would dilute or even deny this truth, which is the only means to salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). We must not allow false teachers to compromise our knowledge of this truth (2 Peter 2:1) and our urgency to share it with others, as Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

Our own testimony and witness to others must not in any way corrupt the Gospel. Instead, it must build up and instruct the hearer regarding God’s grace and salvation through His Son (Ephesians 4:29). Similarly, Jesus warns us to speak the truth plainly – yes meaning yes, and no meaning no (Matthew 5:37). If we muddle these together, we distort what is right and wrong, black and white, into shades of gray.

In these End Times (Matthew 24), Satan has infiltrated governments, world systems, universities, and even seminaries and churches with his ministers, with “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). His minions can be “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” (Matthew 7:15) perverting God’s Word just enough to be damnable heresy, but not enough to be noticed by those who are doctrinally weak. 

For the most part, these false teachers and false prophets are unsaved, and unless they become born again (John 3:3-8), they will spend eternity in hell. But what about those saved church leaders who may be doctrinally sound, but do not fully use the opportunity God has given them to share His Word? Who but God knows if the time allotted to their message is the only time an unsaved soul would have to hear the Gospel? 

I believe that church leaders will be accountable to Jesus for their ministry when they face Him at the judgment seat (1 Corinthians 3:10-13). Will they hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21) or instead have the horrible realization that they wasted precious time and opportunity by rambling with idle words (Matthew 12:36), not as led by the Spirit (Romans 8:1,4), but for indifference or lack of preparation. Or, even worse, did they use their ministry to flatter themselves, build up their own ego, further a political agenda, or even for financial gain?

It is not just church leaders who will be held accountable, for all who are born again are commanded to share the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). We don’t need a divinity degree or formal ministry to do this, any more than did the shepherds to whom the angels proclaimed Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8-17), or the Samaritan woman at the well who ran off to tell everyone, even her enemies, that she had found the Messiah (John 4:21-42).

As we grow as Christians and become more mature in His Word, our ability to share the Gospel should improve (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12). But lack of knowledge should not keep even the newest Christian from sharing the simple truth of how Jesus changed their life, and how they trusted in His death, burial and resurrection to know for sure they will go to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Jesus said that at the judgment, we will suffer loss over our idle words (Matthew 12:36). I believe this refers not to sins involving words, such as lying, blasphemy, hateful speech, verbal abuse, or slander. We have already been judged for all our sins, past, present, and future, at Calvary, where Christ paid in full for our sin debt (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Rather, I believe Christ will judge us for our idle chatter that frittered away opportunities to share His Word or to edify others (Romans 14:19; 15:2) rather than tearing them down.

When God opens the door for us to testify for Him at work or in a social setting, do we walk through it, or do we nervously change the conversation to sports, shopping or politics? Do we welcome gossip, even if under the guise of a prayer request replete with salacious details that may actually be true? 

There are situations when Christian responsibility does require us to convey unpleasant facts to others. Examples might include informing a church leader that the person he was considering to be treasurer had been fired because of embezzlement, or telling a friend that her husband was spotted embracing another woman.

Yet telling others about such incidents when they have no need to know amounts to gossip and can harm the hearer and tale bearer, as well as the subject of the tale. There is an old story of a woman who confessed to her priest that she had spread a rumor about the infidelity of a parishioner. The rumor turned out not to be true but had irreparably damaged the reputation of that person.

The gossiping woman had expected her priest to ask her to recite several Hail Marys and Our Fathers as penance, and was shocked when he instead asked her to find the largest feather pillow she had, go up to her rooftop on a windy day, and shred the pillow to bits with a kitchen knife. She returned a week later and announced that she had completed the task.

“Fine,” the priest replied. “Now go pick up all the scattered feathers.”  We cannot undo the harm of gossip any more than we can retrieve the germs that escape from an uncovered sneeze or feathers scattered to the winds.

We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), not being hurtful or judgmental, or causing offense that would be a stumbling block to another’s faith (Romans 14:13; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 8:9; 1 Peter 2:8; 1 John 2:10). Yet in our eagerness to be kind, accepted or politically correct, we must not dilute or distort doctrine or gloss over truths that may be painful to hear.

Saying “He’s in a better place,” about a lost person who died may make his family feel better, but it is directly opposed to Biblical truth and may remove the urgency the family members might otherwise feel about getting right with God. It is true that only God knows the heart (Psalm 44:21; Luke 16:15; Acts 15:8; 1 John 3:20) and that deathbed conversions may occur, so we can’t know for sure what any person’s eternal destiny may be. In the above situation, it may be best to focus on that, and to thank God for offering eternal life in heaven to “whosoever” believes in His Son’s death, burial and resurrection to pay for our sins (John 3:16).

May we recognize the power of life and death that is in our tongue (Proverbs 18:21), learn to bridle it for good rather than for evil (James 3), and avoid diluting the saving power of the Gospel message with idle words!

© 2019 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives 

Triplets of Life: Live, Move, Be

 

Photo by Charles J Sharp 2014

In God we live and move and 

have our being (Acts 17: 28). I don’t believe the Scripture is being redundant here just for emphasis, but rather that each of these verbs represents a different, deeper and higher plane of existence.

LIVE means to be alive, or to exist in the physical state that distinguishes living beings from inanimate objects such as the dirt from which God created man (Genesis 2:7). That state is also different from death, or the state of a body that has ceased to live (Romans 3:23). Finally, life is distinguished from mechanical animation, because of the distinctive life force that animates it. Robots with highly developed artificial intelligence may simulate meaningful action, conversation, and even expression, but they do not live.

The life force unique to living beings allows metabolism, growth, and reaction to the internal and external environment. Pro-choice activists argue about whether an embryo or fetus is alive, but even in these early stages (Psalm 139:13-16), the baby clearly demonstrates metabolism as it receives nourishment from its mother and uses it for growth, actually at a much higher rate than occurs after birth. Transfer of energy through metabolism also allows reaction to stimuli, which doctors can monitor as changes in heart rate, sucking or other facial movements, and kicking or other limb movements. Any woman who has carried a child knows the excitement of feeling her infant kick within the womb, and those who have sonograms will appreciate her baby sucking its thumb or even seeming to wave hello! 

We live to MOVE. Through movement, we can satisfy our physical needs, express our emotions, and interact with our world. Our emotions, desires and soul constitute the force that motivates us to physical action, work, and deeds (Deuteronomy 32:21; 2 Samuel 18:33; Daniel 11:11; Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 18:27; etc.). Movement in dance, song or playing an instrument can be used to worship God.

Our action causes reaction from our environment, so that our deeds have clear consequences, not only for ourselves, but for others and even for subsequent generations (Genesis 20:9; Judges 19:30; 2 Samuel 12:14; Ezra 9:13; Esther 1:17-18; Psalm 28:4, Isaiah 59:18; Luke 23:41; Romans 2:6, etc.). 

The sum total of our thoughts, words and deeds (Acts 7:22; 2 Corinthians 10:11; 1 John 3:18) shapes our personality, status, and who we are – our very BEING. The former US Army slogan, “Be All You Can Be!” connotes being our highest, best, optimal self.

God oversees our development while our being is still incompletely formed in the womb (Psalm 139:16), and He allots our being a life span during which we are to sing praises to God (Psalm 104:33; 146:2). After physical death, our being is transformed into a child of the resurrection (Luke 20:36), if we have trusted in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).

“Live, move and have our being” may be paraphrased as “exist, work, and fulfill God’s purpose for your life.” Mere physical existence, as for example someone who is considered brain dead after severe head injury, falls so short of our expectations for life that many complete living wills to avoid being artificially maintained in that state.

Work that honors God is a noble occupation for any life (Colossians 3:23), whether it is gainful employment, unpaid works of charity, or artistic endeavors that uplift others. God Himself worked to create all that there is (Genesis 2:2-3). 

Without hard work at some point by ourselves, our forefathers, or by some of our family members, we are not able to eat (Genesis 3:17-19; 2 Thessalonians 3:10; Proverbs 31:15), be clothed (Proverbs 31:13,21-22), or find shelter (Proverbs 24:27). God honors these efforts by providing for our needs when we seek Him first (Matthew 6:28-33).

Failure to work because of laziness leads to poverty, physical want, and ruin (Proverbs 6:9-11; 24:30-34). Our work should provide needed goods, services, and/or education that benefit others physically, intellectually, and/or spiritually (Isaiah 65:22; Proverbs 31:10-31).

In the animal kingdom, God created every living creature that moves (has a specific task), and He gave them the higher purpose of reproducing abundantly, after their kind, to maintain each species (Genesis 1:21; Proverbs 6:6-8). As an illustration, let us consider the life cycle of the butterfly. When the caterpillar entombs itself in the chrysalis, it is, for all, intents and purposes, dead. Its enzymes completely digest and obliterate what once was the caterpillar.

But then God gives it new life as the digested proteins reassemble into the immature butterfly. As it moves, it begins breaking free from the chrysalis and pumping fluid into its still fragile, immature, barely pulsating wings. This movement allows it to achieve the highest level of being that God intended for it – it flies away as a butterfly that pollinates flowers (work benefiting mankind), reproduces its own species.(fulfilling God’s laws of nature) and lifts our spirits with its beauty, freedom, and grace.

God created Adam and Eve as living souls (Genesis 2:21), gave them meaningful and fulfilling work, and intended their beings for fellowship with Him (Genesis 2; 3:8). The work He gave Adam and Eve was to be fruitful in the work He appointed to them (naming the animals, dressing and keeping the garden), to multiply or reproduce, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moved upon the earth (Genesis 1:28).

Without God, we are nothing, we can do nothing, and we have nothing (John 15:5.) God and man are inseparable – everything we are, do and become is a gift from Him (James 1:17). God gives to all mankind life, and breath, and all things (Acts 17: 25).

Life refers to our physical existence; breath to the movement of air to sustain us (Job 33:4; 12:10; 27:3) and His Spirit to fill (John 20:22) and inspire us (Isaiah 42:5). God created a living soul from the inanimate body He formed from the dust by breathing life into Adam’s nostrils (Genesis 2:21). His breath also made the heavens (Psalm 33:6) and revived the dry bones of the spiritually dead nation of Israel (Ezekiel 37:1-14). “All things” refers to the many blessings He bestows on us (Proverbs 10:22, etc.) because of His love, mercy and grace (2 John 1:3, etc.).

We are entirely dependent on God, for our physical life from the moment sperm fertilizes egg to create a unique human being (body; Psalm 139:13-15); for our active life to interact with the world and with others as motivated by our emotions and desires (soul), and for our spiritual life (spirit; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 4:12).

Our body (“soma” in Greek) allows us to be aware of and interact with our world; our soul (“psyche”) gives us awareness of our desires and affects our relationships with others, and our spirit (“pneuma”) is that part of us unique to mankind that God designed to interact with Him. Whether or not we yield our spirit to knowing, worshiping, and serving Him determines our eternal destiny!

Thankfully, God is near us, and He designed us in His image (Genesis 1:26) to want to know Him, to look for Him, and to find Him (Acts 17: 27). In this life, we can have no higher purpose than that!

© 2015 Laurie Collett

Edited, expanded and reposted from the archives

The Most Important Thing

Photo by Olybrius 2008

I had a dream in which I was kidnapped and taken to a hotel room filled with boxes and boxes of what appeared to be old junk. My captor told me that in this room were the contents of his relative’s estate. He had brought me here to find the single most important thing, and to tell him what it is was when he returned. If I had the wrong answer, I would die.

Without another word, he enigmatically disappeared. My heart pounded like a caged bird as I frantically scratched through the cartons.

The gleam of an antique bracelet first caught my eye – well made, and no doubt of historic value, but what was it worth? Perhaps the deceased had herself inherited it from her mother or grandmother, to be treasured as a legacy and now passed on to my captor.

Next I spotted a paper so fragile that it nearly crumbled in my hand. The ink writing was long since faded and worn away at the folds, but it appeared to be a love letter penned by a Civil War soldier to his fiancée awaiting him at home. Did he return from battle alive, I wondered, and if so, was she still faithful? The story that letter could tell might speak volumes to my captor’s heritage.

I recoiled as my grasping hand encountered sharp, pointed teeth, rooted in a tiger’s jaw – possibly a safari trophy? I shuddered as I put this aside, knowing I would not want this reminder of man’s needless cruelty to animals. Yet, given my kidnapper’s criminal tendencies, this might be exactly what he sought.

Eureka – a map! An island, near the equator, showing coordinates and a pathway leading to an X near the center. A treasure map leading to gold doubloons, or just a hoax?

Even in my panicked state, a faint smile curled my lips as I noticed a plaster-of-paris mold of a tiny handprint, embellished with “I Love U” in a child’s scrawl. Could it be that the little hand commemorated the bond between my captor and his mother, reminding him of a gentler time, her nurturing love and the promises of youth?

Another memento of childhood – a painstakingly embroidered, now yellowing, christening dress. Perhaps the kidnapper counted on his infant sprinkling to get him to heaven?

Then a nicely framed diploma, summa cum laude Masters’ degree from Harvard. No doubt that had opened many doors for this family. Or was it the reverse – the heir spurning the advantages of an expensive college education, and instead squandering his inheritance?

Hiding in the corner of one of the last cartons was an inobtrusive plastic bottle containing heart medication. If only the deceased had taken this in time, she might still be here, and I would not be in this awful predicament!

Aha! I exclaimed aloud in my half delirious state -- surely this was it – a safe deposit box key!  Everything else here was just debris accumulating on the journey of life, with merely sentimental value or clues to the path taken. But the real reward was surely the cash, securities, title deeds, and other valuables locked away for the rightful heir.

Confident that I had found the most important thing, I suddenly realized that days had gone by, and I was ravenously hungry. There was no food in the room, but to my surprise, the door to the hallway was unlocked. I ran out, elated to be “free” but then spotted the armed guards at the hotel entrances and exits. Apparently I could roam about inside but not leave the hotel.

With an ominous thud, the door to my room locked shut behind me. If I were not inside the room, how could I save my life when my captor returned by telling him the most important thing?

But if I fainted from hunger, there was no hope at all. First find food, then somehow get back in the room. There were stores and restaurants, but I had no money, and I could tell from the faces of the staff that they were hardly sympathetic to my plight. I was thrilled to find a nearly empty box of crackers on a room service tray, with a few crumbs still inside. I snatched it up and scurried into a corridor leading to the pool room, thinking I could eat there in peace.

Instead I found a little girl in a soaking wet bathing suit, shivering and sobbing, and all alone. She threw her arms around me, crying “I’m cold! I’m hungry! I want my mommy!”

There were no towels or bathrobes anywhere, so I wrapped her in my sweater, hugged her, and gave her what was left of the crackers. I knew I had to stay with her to comfort her, even if I would be killed once apprehended. As starved, wretched and terrified as I felt, helping her gave me a strange sense of joy and peace, and I remembered Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat… I was a stranger, and ye took me in…36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.…40 Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Jesus! My Savior! How had I forgotten Him as the only One Who could rescue me? (Romans 10:9,13; Acts 2:21; 4:12 ) Only He would never leave me, nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

As if the sun rose in my darkened mind, I suddenly knew that the most important thing in that hotel room was not the safe deposit box key, the jewelry, the diploma, the treasure map, the medicine, the childhood souvenirs, or the historic document. It was not part of the estate at all, but tucked invisibly in the nightstand drawer would surely be a Bible, left there by the Gideons in their mission to provide God’s Word to weary travelers on their journey through this planet that is not our true home (Psalm 119:19, Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11).

I awoke feeling so thankful for God’s promises recorded in His Word (2 Samuel 7:28; Acts 2:33,39; 13:23). Without them, life would have no meaning. Why had I plunged into the futile exercise of combing through boxes full of trash without considering the treasure of Bible wisdom – the secret to abundant, eternal life (John 3:16; 10:10) for all who place their faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)?

How often are we distracted by piles of junk accumulating in our life, while neglecting the riches found without fail in our Bible? Why do we worry about our “stuff” instead of storing treasures in Heaven, where we can enjoy them forever? (Luke 12:16-34; Matthew 6:19-21)

I felt blessed that my husband Richard recently became a Gideon, and that we had the privilege of handing Scriptures to students. I remembered a testimony shared at a Gideons’ meeting of a maid who was cleaning a hotel room and found a handwritten note carefully placed in the Gideons’ Bible to mark Psalm 23. The writer explained that he had checked in, feeling that his life was over and that to spare his family additional grief, he planned to kill himself. Then he started thumbing through that very Bible and read the verse that brought him newly found peace and hope:

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

God alone can deliver us from all our fears and save us from all enemies, even sin, death and hell (Psalm 34:4-7; 2 Kings 17:39; Romans 8:2; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Truly the most important “thing” in this life is our Bible – God’s love letter to us that guides, comforts, corrects, and inspires us (Psalm 119:11,14.16, 105, etc.). But it is not a “thing” – just like Jesus, His Word is eternal and unchanging (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; Hebrews 13:8).

Without understanding its promise of eternal life through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who reconciled sinful man to Holy God through His shed blood (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22), we cannot know the all-important One. Christ alone is the Way (John 14:6) to abundant, eternal life. Trust and follow Him today!

© 2014 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives