ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 27, 2026
I met someone for coffee yesterday and then drove to visit one of our folks in a nursing home near Methodist Hospital Willowbrook. My map showed a very interesting way to go, but as I got closer, I thought to myself, “That’s going to take five minutes longer,” and so I went the way I would usually go. As I turned onto Hargrave Road, I realized the reason my map was directing me another way. They were resurfacing the road, and it was only one lane. There were folks trying to direct traffic, but as I got closer to the bottleneck, I realized that they did not have a person at an important intersection and so people were getting confused and blocking traffic. The other way was usually five minutes longer, yet because I chose the way that is usually shorter, it added about forty minutes to my drive. It was a mess.
I share this story because there are so many times in life when we do not have all the available information, or maybe we do, yet we assume to know better. It might just be me, but I doubt it. It is probably also true in regard to our faith walk with God. I am not comparing Apple Maps to God, but there is a helpful metaphor to be found here. There have been times when I felt a nudge to go one way, yet I convinced myself that I knew better. From my vantage point, there was a safer or superior pathway. I’m not suggesting that God is trying to help us shave five minutes off a drive, but I do believe God has a much better vantage point in regard to my life and the world I’m trying to navigate. I believe God uses scripture, the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of the church to provide an opportunity to glimpse from God’s perspective.
As I think about providing leadership at Cypress Creek Christian Church, I know there have been times when I did not trust God’s guidance. I’m not suggesting it came through a booming voice or bright light in the sky, yet I noticed a gentle tug in a direction that did not make sense. So I reached for what was comfortable, following a path I knew well. My path wasn’t bad or unrighteous or sinful. However, I just did not accept all the possible counsel available to me because I felt I knew better. One of my regular prayers is for an awareness of God, especially in those moments when God is seeking to provide a better vantage point from which I can see why I should go one way despite what my gut is telling me.
I am praying for that sacred awareness where I see as you see, O God. There are important decisions that I am called upon to make, and I don’t wish to choose the path well known simply because I cannot imagine anything else. For that reason, I am listening for the whisper of the Spirit, the Living Word to pour forth from the words of scripture, and the wisdom of the body I call the church. Amen.
