You Are Here!

Before the GPS and smart phones we used road maps. (Kids, road maps were large illustrations of land areas printed on paper and neatly folded so they would easily fit in a car's glove box. Refolding a map could be entertaining or quite maddening.) As I drove, my trusty navigator, my wife, would scan the map for highway numbers or street names that I called out. She would announce, "I've got it; we are right here," and she would point to a location on the map that matched our current location.

Nowadays our smart phones have built-in GPS systems that point to a position on an electronic map. (Bonus: You can choose the accent of the navigator's voice.) The result is the same. A marker displays your current position; a kind of "You are here!" pointer.

Walking into a large multi-level, multi-winged mall for the first time you might stop at a large display of the mall posted near the entrance. There is usually a bold marker with an arrow pointing to your current position on the illustrated display: "You are here."

We often need a point of reference in order to find our way. Maps of various kinds allow us to step back and view ourselves in relation to the things around us. They help to provide meaning and navigation in our current surroundings. Without the "You are here" pointers we would be better described as explorers or wanderers (other ways of saying that we might be lost).

Let me show you the bold "You are here" pointer in life. It is found in the very first verse of the Bible:

"In the beginning . . . God . . . ."

The phrase 'in the beginning' gives us a point of reference in time. It is the first point of reference with mankind as the object. The biblical creation narrative goes on to tell of the beginning of mankind, and while mankind is central to the story line, he is not really the focal point. The focal point is God.

We need to be able to find ourselves within 'our surroundings.' We need to be able to step back and view ourselves in the context of God, not the other way around. Only then will we find meaning. Only then will we be able to confidently navigate life.

God himself is the point of reference from which everything in life is to be understood. If you start your thinking in the wrong place, you are bound to end up in...

Oh wait! Look around.

Our society (world) today is largely the product of those who have started their thinking with man. It is as if the 'you are here' pointer points to man!

Start with man and try to understand the universe.
Start with man and try to understand man's presence in the universe.
Start with man and try to understand man's purpose.
Start with man and try to understand God, religion, faith.
Start with man and try to understand...anything!

In the beginning...God.
You are HERE!

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
--Proverbs 9:10

Mark Stinnett