Living the dash: reading the road! - 31 Jan 2008

My son recently turned 17 – a wonderful age, part youth, part man! He couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of a car and legally drive on the public highway, albeit with L plates! He loves driving, yet he’s realised that it’s not quite as easy as he first thought. Just when he thinks he’s cracked it he stalls the engine or chooses a wrong gear or gets flustered at a busy junction. However he’s not alone in the car; he has an instructor beside him, ready to teach, explain and encourage.

I’m sure there’s a parallel/parable here: the Holy Spirit is our one-to one instructor.

We’re all familiar, I hope, with the Highway Code, that ever-expanding book of guidance for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. At the very back of the book you’ll find a few pages of signs, some of which we had to identify at the end of the test, or in a separate theory test.

There are 3 main shapes for the signs:
· Rectangular. These are colour-coded and give information
· Circular. These also are colour-coded and give orders: “do”… and “do not”...
· Triangular. These are warning signs: “danger of …”.

Another parallel: God’s Word is our guide book.

Let me finish with some thoughts on traffic lights. We’re so familiar with the red for stop, the amber for get ready, and the green for go.

We need to be aware of God’s traffic lights:

RED Sometimes we simply need to stop what we are doing and wait. Possibly pull over and stretch our legs or take a nap.
AMBER This can mean “get ready to stop”. It’s important to take heed. There may be danger or difficulty ahead.
AMBER This also means “get ready to go”. Make your preparations, pack your bags, the journey is about to continue.
GREEN is for “go”. We’re underway again, travelling with the Holy Spirit in the direction He chooses.

May God help us to read our particular road and discern what He is saying.