At this time of year, many people start thinking about summer vacations. It pays to plan ahead because you can save money and ensure that you stay where you want to stay when you want to stay there. If you don’t like to plan all the details, maybe you would prefer to do what we did recently: pick your destination and let someone else do all the planning.
My dad and I chose our destination: Israel. That’s the only thing we did. Someone else did the research to choose a tour group and travel dates. We paid our money and showed up at the airport. How liberating it was to let someone else take care of all those details for us!
When it comes to life, we have one major decision to make. We have to choose our eternal destination. There are only two options: Heaven and Hell. Heaven is the place where God dwells. He alone determines how people earn passage into it. John 14:6 tells us plainly: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” We must come to Jesus, admit that we are sinners, turn away from our sins, and accept His forgiveness. This is the only way to choose Heaven as our destination. By default, we are all on a path to Hell, the only other eternal destination. It is a place of torment. It is a place of eternal separation from God.
Trusting in Jesus and following Him is like signing up for a tour. We get on the bus, but someone else drives; someone else guides us and teaches us. We are along for the ride, headed to our eternal destination. There will be many stops along the way, and we will have choices to make about whether to follow the instructions we are given. If we are willing to obey, there will be much joy and peace in the journey itself, even in the darkest, most frightening places. Walking through this life with Jesus is not always easy, but it is an adventure because we get to experience Him and His presence here, with the sure hope of spending eternity in Heaven with Him!
In Israel, we boarded a bus with a bus driver, a tour guide and forty tourists. Tourism is a huge industry in Israel. There were tour buses everywhere we went, and the traffic could be tricky to navigate. I heard a few squeals from passengers at times when they saw how narrowly our bus missed brushing against another bus or car. Sometimes it was better not to look! But our driver knew exactly what he was doing. He always remained calm, delivered us to each stop safely, and never hit another vehicle. Personally, I was thankful that I was not in the driver’s seat.
The same is true in the Christian life – we’re not supposed to be in the driver’s seat. God is the one who should be “driving.” He is able to carry us through this life, no matter how challenging the circumstances may be. We might be surprised by the things that happen in our lives, but nothing surprises Him. Sometimes our own choices may land us in difficult predicaments, but if we yield to Him in obedience, He is able to work out everything for our good. It is very freeing to turn control over to Him and let Him “drive.”
Not only should we relinquish control and allow the Lord to be our “driver,” but we should also listen to Him as He guides and teaches us. The tour guide on our bus was very knowledgeable and seemed to love telling us the history behind each place we visited. In order to hear what he was saying, we were given receivers and ear pieces to wear, and he wore a microphone and transmitter. All week long, no matter where we went, we could hear him telling us about the places we were seeing or giving us instructions.
When we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). He is like our resident “tour guide,” teaching us and guiding us (John 14:26, 16:13). Our tour guide knew a lot of facts, but God knows everything. He even knows what lies ahead. Even our tour guide knew things we didn’t know, and he shared his knowledge with us to prepare us for what was ahead on the journey. One example is when we were about to disembark the bus in Jerusalem, and he said, “When you get off the bus here, buddy up. No one goes off by themselves. Everyone, find a buddy and stay together.” Because he was familiar with this city, he knew the areas where we were at higher risk to be targets for pick-pockets and aggressive street vendors. Likewise, the Lord knows what dangers lie ahead for us, and He gives us people to “buddy up” with. The body of Christ is made up of all believers, and He planned for us to “buddy up” with each other, to love, encourage, and do good to one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9,18; 5:15). I’m so thankful for the new Christian friends we met on this trip, who became our “buddies.” Even if we never meet again in this life, I know we will be in Heaven together because of our faith in Jesus.
So, where are you headed? What eternal destination have you chosen? If you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus, do it now. Trust Him to be the driver of your life, obey His guiding voice, buddy up with other believers, and enjoy the ride. It’s the ultimate journey!