On my front porch at this moment is a package containing merchandise I
ordered last week. I have not actually seen this package nor has my
wife called to tell me that it's there. I know it's location because
of the tracking service provided by the company from which I ordered.
Had I checked yesterday I would have been told that it was in transit.
Another of those marvels of technology!
Tracking is an ancient skill. Those who lived on the North American
continent before the arrival of Europeans knew how to track the game
they were hunting. Their lives depended on finding meat and they
became quite good at following paw prints and observing other signs.
Their attention to detail told them how long it had been since the
animal had been in that spot.
Hunting is now a sport in our country, and few depend on finding game
in order to eat. There are plenty of other things, though, that
Americans track. Apps like Yowza turn one's smart phone into a device
for sniffing out bargains. Your location is identified (somehow) and
blips begin appearing on a map showing which stores feature sales for
merchandise you've specified. Saving money has gotten easier (and so
has attracting shoppers into retail outlets).
Verizon advertises a service called "family locator". When the
service is enabled, you can keep track of the whereabouts of others
who share your phone's family plan. Is your teenage son really where
he said he was going to be? You no longer have to wonder.
Long ago a young man fled his home after his brother threatened to
kill him. As Jacob slept on the ground that first night on the run,
God spoke to him in a dream: "Behold I am with you and will keep you
wherever you go ..." (Genesis 28:15). What comfort that must have
been for Jacob as he faced an uncertain future! But his peace
depended on God following him.
Several hundred years later another man contemplated God's ability to
track his people: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"
(Psalm 23:6). The Hebrew word translated here as "follow" is found
often in the Old Testament; it is commonly translated as "pursue" or
"chase". This is no casual stroll; God intentionally follows His
people!
One can imagine the anxiety felt by the apostles as they saw Jesus
prepare to return to heaven. He had guided and taught them for three
years; what now? Matthew records these assuring words at the close of
his gospel account: "... and, lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Jesus was and is constantly tracking
His disciples.
Though airlines spend tens of millions of dollars on their luggage
sorting systems, suitcases are sometimes lost. GPS signals don't
always yield accurate locations. Even precious children are sometimes
separated from those who dearly love them and try to protect them.
Nothing compares, however, with God's tracking system. Paul stressed
the surety of that truth: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God
stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His ...'" (2
Timothy 2:19). Nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans
8:35-39); nothing, that is, except you (2 Peter 2:20-22).
Timothy D. Hall
ordered last week. I have not actually seen this package nor has my
wife called to tell me that it's there. I know it's location because
of the tracking service provided by the company from which I ordered.
Had I checked yesterday I would have been told that it was in transit.
Another of those marvels of technology!
Tracking is an ancient skill. Those who lived on the North American
continent before the arrival of Europeans knew how to track the game
they were hunting. Their lives depended on finding meat and they
became quite good at following paw prints and observing other signs.
Their attention to detail told them how long it had been since the
animal had been in that spot.
Hunting is now a sport in our country, and few depend on finding game
in order to eat. There are plenty of other things, though, that
Americans track. Apps like Yowza turn one's smart phone into a device
for sniffing out bargains. Your location is identified (somehow) and
blips begin appearing on a map showing which stores feature sales for
merchandise you've specified. Saving money has gotten easier (and so
has attracting shoppers into retail outlets).
Verizon advertises a service called "family locator". When the
service is enabled, you can keep track of the whereabouts of others
who share your phone's family plan. Is your teenage son really where
he said he was going to be? You no longer have to wonder.
Long ago a young man fled his home after his brother threatened to
kill him. As Jacob slept on the ground that first night on the run,
God spoke to him in a dream: "Behold I am with you and will keep you
wherever you go ..." (Genesis 28:15). What comfort that must have
been for Jacob as he faced an uncertain future! But his peace
depended on God following him.
Several hundred years later another man contemplated God's ability to
track his people: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"
(Psalm 23:6). The Hebrew word translated here as "follow" is found
often in the Old Testament; it is commonly translated as "pursue" or
"chase". This is no casual stroll; God intentionally follows His
people!
One can imagine the anxiety felt by the apostles as they saw Jesus
prepare to return to heaven. He had guided and taught them for three
years; what now? Matthew records these assuring words at the close of
his gospel account: "... and, lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Jesus was and is constantly tracking
His disciples.
Though airlines spend tens of millions of dollars on their luggage
sorting systems, suitcases are sometimes lost. GPS signals don't
always yield accurate locations. Even precious children are sometimes
separated from those who dearly love them and try to protect them.
Nothing compares, however, with God's tracking system. Paul stressed
the surety of that truth: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God
stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His ...'" (2
Timothy 2:19). Nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans
8:35-39); nothing, that is, except you (2 Peter 2:20-22).
Timothy D. Hall
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