Years ago, when I became the youth director at Camp Yorktown Bay, in Arkansas, I was interested in finding out how much property belonged to the camp. We had a map, and it was easy to find the lakeshore boundary on two sides of the property. But the perimeter lines headed up into the steep oak forest. When my father came to visit, we decided to place markers in the corners of the property. He had been a state surveyor in California, and we had a compass, and a plot map of the land. We measured up the hills, and across the ravines until we reached what we thought was the corner of the property. But as we looked around all we could see was oak trees and leaves all over the ground.
So we decided that we would just put in our own post to be the marker. However, as we prepared to put in the post, we stumbled across the official marker hidden under the leaves, about three feet from our measurement line.
As you might expect we moved our stake to where the official maker was, rather than to move the official marker to where we had measured. The marker was the standard, and we knew we should adjust to the standard. If we had used the marker where we first put it, and measured from there to our next corner spot, we may have been even further off at the next corner.
In the same way, when we seek to find truth, we draw conclusions, and may even drive a stake in the ground of “Where we stand” on an issue. However, before we drive that stake in, it is always wise to check the “standard.” Is there any word from the Lord? Does the Scripture or the Spirit of Prophecy tell us anything that would help us know how we should believe and behave?
I am thankful that we have a “more sure word of prophecy” to guide us as seek to know truth and God’s will for our lives. I would encourage you to use that more sure word of prophecy as your “official marker” for your life. If you do you will never lose your way.
Mike Edge, President