Do you know what kind of car the first century Christians drove? The Bible says they were all in “one Accord” (Acts 1:14). While that may be an especially corny joke, I will take it one corny step further and say it probably didn’t have any blinkers (turn signals).
There are many Scriptures where God commands “Do not turn to the left or to the right” (Deut. 5:32; 17:20; Josh 1:7; Prov. 4). Jesus' followers are warned to stay on the straight and narrow path (Matt. 7:14). 
You don’t have to drive for long with the Lord to know it is not easy going straight in this crooked world (Phil 2:15); there are so many temptations to make a wrong turn. And our enemy is only too ready to confuse us with false signs that will lead us in the wrong direction. But not to worry! God promises to ‘drive’ them away just as He ‘drove’ out the enemies of Israel (Joshua 3:10). And I am convinced whatever He is ‘driving’ has no blinkers. "Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6).
hi Dr. Greg,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Thanks!
There are some parts of the country where using "directionals" (what they call turn signals) are a sign of weakness. In their mindset, they cannot communicate what they want to do, because if they do, and another driver inhibits them, the weak driver may not be able to change lanes when he wants, where he wants, how he wants. And this is the metaphor for today. Don't let someone else' rules guide your life, because you may cheat yourself. This is a flawed view of the rules / guidelines of God. If one views the ten commandments (later summarized to a very shorter list by Jesus)as a fence, then one can feel walled in. But if it is, "play as you will under the guidance of these 10 commandments," then it is very liberating. Our real motivation (and here is the challenge) in the shorter summary by Jesus is to Love God, love others, (because we instinctively love ourself). We can "play as we will" as long as the primary motivation is love (mature love as demonstrated by Jesus, not the self-serving sentimental love dished out by the media today). This means a complete freedom constrained and motivated only by a love (up down and in).
Truthfully, I confess that I would rather have the rules and personally error on some, than have the responsibility to love like Jesus loved.
Godspeed! Larry Q