Following Directions

"You have arrived at your destination."

My car's GPS system announced I was at the address I had entered, a large hotel in North Carolina where I was attending my first writer's conference in 2008. My actual surroundings differed however. I was right in the middle of a neighborhood, late at night, and very confused.

I turned around and headed to the closest convenience store to park and call the hotel for directions. They got me going, and soon I had truly arrived at my destination. It was strange, I had followed the GPS directions perfectly, but it hadn't gotten me where it stated it would.

The world often gives us directions on how to get to heaven. The world says all good people go to heaven. Or there are many ways to to get to heaven. Or even there is no heaven. If we follow the wrong directions, even when they seem as reliable as my GPS, we might end up in the wrong place...and very confused.

This week I'm going to another writers conference at that same hotel. Only this time I am not trusting my GPS. Instead, I've printed directions off of the hotel website. The hotel knows directions to the hotel, by definition. It will get me there safely.

Obviously, God knows the way to heaven. I can find accurate printed directions in the Bible. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only way, regardless of what the world's GPS might say.

If you want reliable directions to heaven, don't trust the world's GPS. Go directly to the source, the Bible, to find directions right to God's door.