One day I was eyeing my altimeter that I have hanging on the mirror for safe keeping. As I looked at it more closely a thought came to me. How does one keep themselves grounded in life? It seems that there would need to be something separate from ourselves, something fixed that stays the same regardless of how much we move around. Something that is sure and true to be of value.
In the short time that I have been enjoying jumping out of planes, I have learned how to use an altimeter to keep me safe.
The process is simple. Once I’m in the plane and it takes off, I monitor the gauge until it reaches fifteen hundred feet telling me that I can take my safety belt off. I frequently check my altimeter as the needle makes its way to the fourteen thousand feet mark indicating that it’s time to take advantage of the open door and jump out of the plane. This is my favorite part!
After I have left the Cessna aircraft, I eye the device several times watching my decent at about 120 miles per hour. Once I reach six thousand feet then it’s time to deploy the parachute. The Altimeter continues to be a dependable tool as I guide my canopy and prepare to make my final decent to landing.
The altitude never changes, the altimeter always works the same, and the routine from ground to fourteen thousand feet and to landing in no way deviates. The altimeter is a skydivers point of reference while in the sky.
Like life, we all have some type of reference point that we live by or else we would flop around like a fish out of water. In other words, we need something stable and dependable, or existence becomes chaotic.
There are many reference points that I use on a day-to-day basis such as abiding by the law while I’m driving on the road to keep me and others from harm. There is a scope of practice I follow as a nurse to properly care for a patient. I even have a point of reference for a goal that I want to accomplish such as writing. I refer to textbooks on how to improve my skill as a writer. I glean knowledge from those who have been writing for a long time so that I can become a better author.
But what about life.
“Without God man has no reference point to define himself.”
In the scripture John 14:16 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
Could it be that God is the ultimate point of reference that all existence can rely on? My answer is yes. True to His word, when God says he is going to do something then He does it. He never wavers on his love and grace that he wants to shower upon us. His way is always stable and never failing.
“God is not just the starting point of your life, He is the source of it.” – Rick Warren
Have you ever wondered how a person can stand in the middle of a storm and still feel sure footed in their life? It’s because they have put their total trust and faith in the only living God that can’t be beaten.
When Jesus is the reference point, life begins to make sense. We begin to see the mighty work that God is doing in our lives. Faith blossoms as we begin to trust God knowing His promises are more valuable than all the treasures in the world.
What’s your point of reference in life? Have you included God?
“God made you for a reason and your life has profound meaning! We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives.” – Rick Warren
Gwen
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