Shade Tree Wisdom 2/7/14

          On August 10, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan, as captain of a fleet of 5 ships, left Seville, Spain with the commission from Spanish King Charles to find a way to the Spice Islands by sailing west. On November 1 they started sailing through what is now the Straits of Magellan, an arduous voyage that took nearly 40 days for the 343 miles. They reached the pacific. Magellan’s maps showed he now had maybe 4 days of sailing left to reach the Spice Islands. His maps were tragically wrong. The voyage took 5 months. They ran out of food and water. 19 sailors died, and all of them had scurvy and other diseases. Magellan was killed in the Philippines, and 2 ships returned to Seville in September 1522, nearly 3 years after that voyage began. Only 4 of the original sailors returned. 282 died or were killed in the interim. Much of the trouble was faulty guides for their journey.

          And this is why I begin with that bit of history. Our world is changing. Old standards are being replaced, or ignored, or disregarded and regarded as “Old Fashioned”. In America God was recognized as God, the Supreme Being, who created the world. In general, most people knew the Bible and looked to it for guiding truths. No longer true, and as we slither ever deeper into this morass, eventually this will erode standards for nearly everything, and putting it on television makes moral baseness the new standard. And the cry for this is “everything I do is legal”.

          How can one exist in these surroundings? The cry of the ancient Psalmist rings true still, “I am a stranger in the earth, Oh, how I need a map”. Psalm 119,19. Here is your answer, and mine. One we can trust because it changes not and is eternally true. That guide, that map, is the Holy Scripture. It is our North Star, set and there to guide our living. Not only does it give us the right pathway, but it also is the only guide that leads to eternal life for us who are sinners. “Christ Jesus died for sinners, of whom I am chief.”

          So, go back to this guide to give us light for our path, and may God bless the going.

GPD 2/7/14