I don’t know about you, but I have a natural nosiness! Whenever I see a noticeboard on the common I want to read it and see what’s on it. These kind of noticeboards, often have information that help us to know what is on the common, things like plants and birds and points of interest. The noticeboard will often have a map on it which shows you paths and features.
When it comes to looking at a map you could say I am nosey, especially a map which is of the local area! I love pouring over a 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey map, looking at the contours, the features, points of interest etc. There is something elegant about the graphics which can be found there. Interpreting these graphics help me to understand the physical world around me.
In my preparation for forest church recently I was covering a new piece of ground which is close to an area where we once had a forest church walk. The land forms an incline and ends up on a kind of plateau. I found this intriguing as it was clearly different to the surrounding area. I made a note to check out the geological map of this area.
In my deliberations I was considering this area to take forest church to. I was still checking out my options. When I saw the outline of the geological feature on the British Geological Survey map it looked like a figure giving me the thumbs-up! This was like a green light or confirmation of what I sensed whilst walking; from Holy Spirit saying this is the spot, go for it!
When we look at a map legend, more often called the key, we use that to read the map and make sense of it. If we don’t know the symbols, we are unable to interpret the map. A map covers areas where we are unfamiliar with and areas we know well. In the real world when we take a walk we can be familiar with an area and know it or think we do. A feature may be noticed which we may not have seen before. This may or may not capture our attention depending on whether our senses are tuned in or not. A map helps us to identify the feature as it has been recorded by the map makers.
It is interesting to note that the word ‘legend’ related in the past to stories of saints and means (things) to be read. Similarly, we could say that the key also helps us to read. It unlocks the map making sense of its overall image. It is a good picture of what our lives are like. There is a lot of detail in our lives which sometimes make sense and sometimes not. Holy Spirit helps pinpoint the areas where we need to stick to his route with the aid of his presence and the words of truth found in the Bible.
He is Emmanuel, the with us God. As we step out into this new year along the route, let’s follow him. He is the one who makes our stories make sense. He is the one who guides us we need to let him help us. He is the one who will give us the thumbs-up as we follow his map.
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