As I walked into the office last week, I noticed a woman approaching the building.  So I held the doors for her, then when we were in the lobby, asked if I could help her.  She asked me if this was the Post Office.  Suppressing a chuckle, I informed her that she was close, but the Post Office was several buildings further down the road.

As she turned to go, she commented, “my GPS told me this was the place.”  I, too, have been misled by a GPS before.  Maybe you have, too.  And while I marvel at GPS technology, sometimes you have to actually talk to a person to get the right info.  In this particular case, despite the technology involved, I was (temporarily) smarter than the GPS.  I knew what she needed to know.

Have you ever noticed how someone’s relationship with God is determined by the information they believe to be true about God, Jesus, and even the church?  They could have received that signal from their childhood, from the media, or from someone else.  And sometimes those signals are taking them to the wrong place.  It’s as though there’s a GPS-type signal that’s telling them, “God can’t be trusted.  He’s like your father.  The church is really just full of people who are (fill in the blank: hypocritical, self-absorbed, judgmental, etc.); they’re not safe.”  When the wrong message is believed, the person gets disoriented and lost in their spiritual journey.

What I’ve learned is that often, if a real person steps into someone’s life, they can correct some of the crazy ideas and beliefs about God, and about faith, and even about Jesus’ church.  You could be that person.  You probably interact with people every day whose “faith GPS” has been feeding them some less than accurate information.  And your actions, reactions, and conversations have the potential to provide clarity for that person on their spiritual journey.  You could be smarter than the GPS!

It’s as simple as sharing what you know about God.  Sharing the message of grace and hope that you’ve experienced in Jesus.  Sharing the difference that a church like Seneca Creek has made in your life.

Maybe it begins with a simple question: “Why do you believe that to be true about God?”  Then see if you can be smarter than the GPS for someone else.  It could be the most important conversation of their life.

-Pastor Mark