Follow the Map

Have you ever traveled anywhere? You may have ridden in the car to visit someone or go shopping. Or you might like to go on biking trips. Maybe you’ve even gone on a hike in the woods. I have, and once we almost got lost. It was because we forgot our map. When we found out we were going in the wrong direction, we had to turn around and get back on the right path.

Maps are important. There are lots of paths and roads around, but not all of them will take you in the right direction. If you are traveling in a new place, a map can help you. A map shows which roads go to which places. It shows you how far you will have to go and which is the shortest way. If you don’t have a map you will have to guess. And that can get you into a lot of trouble.

The King’s garden is full of paths, so let’s take a walk. Shall we visit the fountain or go by the lake? The map shows us that we can do both if we take the main path that starts by the front gate. It is beautiful here in the rose garden, but we better not turn on the side paths. Come along, I see the big sugar maple. The path turns left into the woods and right by the lily bed. Which way should we go?

If we are wise, we will take out our map. It shows us that the wooded path goes to the fountain. Here we are! The lake is over there, across that field. Shall we take a short-cut? I don’t think so—look at the map! Do you see why we must be careful to not go by what we think is best? In the same way the Bible is our map to heaven. We will only get there if we are careful to follow it.