A Map to Christ

We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

- 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NRSV)

I work for a small municipality in a rural area of Tennessee. Perhaps the most interesting of my many job responsibilities is creating maps. The maps I produce vary in simplicity from a drawing representing a single parcel of land with zoning information to more detailed maps of regions with street names, building footprints, streams, and topographical data.

However, no matter what features I include on a map, without accurate data it is, in essence, useless. Without the proper labeling, orientation, and scaling, a map of the Smoky Mountains might look just like a map of the Swiss Alps. And without the proper legend and reference markers, a map of a biking path might direct the user into the middle of a river.

Something similar is true of our lives. Many of us are like living maps that lead others to Christ. To do this our maps must include love, kindness, gentleness, and generosity. They must be oriented in such a way that the user is pointed heavenward and not in the direction of the world. And they must be scaled to encompass all of God’s children, not just some select group that we feel most comfortable with.

I want to allow God to shape my life so that it guides others toward Christ.