Follow the Compass

Out in the hills last week doing some Munro-bagging* - six if you must know, yes, just the one day – anyway as we navigated between the peaks (did I mention we climbed six?) I was once again struck by how easily it is to get disorientated. On several occasions my instinct of where to go was completely counter to reality. It was the classic choice of follow the compass or your feelings – and man can your feelings be at odds with the compass. You stare at the compass and think, ‘that can’t be right’ – even to point of tapping the compass in case it’s jammed. But, of course, in the mountains losing faith in the compass is to risk losing your life too.

Well the compass is a well used illustration in encouraging us to keep faith with the Bible –to follow Scripture even when it feels counter-intuitive to do so. But let me take it down/up (?) a level to think about the key ‘compass bearing’ of 'Grace'.

We might understand grace in our heads – but so often our hearts find it hard to believe. Our natural instinct is only to feel loved, accepted and secure by God – when we have proved ourselves lovable, acceptable and desirable to God. So when we sin, have drifted in our devotions, been negligent in service – our natural instincts are to feel insecurity, despair & disapproval in relation to God. And the more we follow that instinct of needing to prove ourselves – the more of a vicious cycle it is – because (a) we lack consistency and (b) however highly we ‘perform’ there are countless further levels in which we’ll soon become aware we fall short in.

Rather the answer is to follow the compass needle that tenaciously points to ‘grace’. Believe the compass – let it be your guide in life, let it rule overrule your natural senses, and let it govern your understanding of God’s relationship to you in Christ. Now ‘Grace’ is not an excuse to set aside the disciplines of holiness or the pursuit of Christ-likeness (Rom 6:1-2) – but it is the basis on which to do so. It is the objective, unswayed, trustworthy and directing pointer of truth – ‘by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works’ (Eph 2:8-9.

So follow the compass.

*Munros are Scottish mountains over 3000ft.