I will never forget the Thanksgiving before Judy and I were married. Our wedding date was December 10th, and we spent the Thanksgiving holidays with my mom and sister in my hometown of Winnsboro, Texas. The Friday after Thanksgiving, I took a dear friend of mine and his ten-year-old son duck hunting at the White Oak Creek bottom, about thirty minutes from my hometown.
We began our hunt after lunch. Even though we were in late November, the weather was unseasonably warm. The temperature was in the 70s. We hunted for a few hours following the creek, scaring up some ducks and shooting them as they flew away. One duck fell across the creek. White Oak was more like a small river, but the water was relatively low due to the lack of rain, so we crossed the water on a tree that had fallen across the creek. We continued hunting on the other side and probably walked two or three miles until we decided to turn around to arrive at our vehicles before dark.
And then it began to rain.
We had not bothered to listen to a weather report because it was the holidays. Even though we knew rain was possible, we had not counted on a summer-like thunderstorm of biblical proportions. The storm drenched us, and the rain came down in such torrents that it was hard to see. Still, we were confident we could make our way back. A second thing I had not counted on was this: it rained so hard and so fast that within an hour, all of the sloughs and tributaries of White Oak Creek began to fill up. This was important because it prevented us from staying near the creek. Instead, the water flooding the bottom land of the creek forced us away from the creek. I was not worried because I knew that creek bottom like the back of my hand. I had hunted and hiked that region for almost twenty years. I knew practically every square inch of that territory.
We were forced to deviate from the typical path, but I knew we could circle around and take another route.
We did that only to hit another slough rapidly filling with water. Now we were in trouble.
The rain was still coming down hard, and the sky was pitch dark by now. Because of the storm, no stars were shining in the sky. And since we had not considered staying after dark, we had no matches, jackets, or flashlights.
There was a landmark, however, that I began looking for, knowing that if I found it, it could lead us back to our cars. It was a clearing that was about twenty yards wide. Workers had carved a passage in this forest in the 1920s to lay a pipeline to transport natural gas from the northern part of the state to the south. In my mind’s eye, I could see a grid with four quadrants. In the center, running north and south, was a clearing for the pipeline, which ran underground. It crossed White Oak Creek, which ran East and West. I knew we were located in the top right quadrant–northeast of the creek and the clearing. If we could head West, we would eventually encounter the clearing.
And then, leading the way, I ran into a barbed wire fence. This was bad news. There was only one barbed wire fence on the north side of White Oak Creek, and it was in the Northwest quadrant. That meant we had crossed the clearing at some point, and I had not even realized it because of the storm’s chaos.
I had one more thing to try. I knew that the barbed wire fence ran north and south. We would proceed north if we turned right at the fence and followed it. If we followed those wire strands, headed north, and walked approximately one mile, we would encounter a pond. We could turn west at that pond, turn right when the pond began to run south to north and walk due north. When the pond’s northwest shore ended, we could turn right and walk east. About fifty yards to the East, we would find ourselves alongside an eight-foot-high dam. This dam ran east and west alongside a canal. If we could spot the dam and canal, we would have a chance to spot the clearing and get home.
I grabbed the barbed wire fence and slowly began leading the way to what I hoped was salvation. I placed one hand after another on that fence to assure myself we were not moving off course.
We felt as though we were trapped inside one of those giant mazes they have for tourists in vacation resorts. People find entertainment walking inside a maze and trying to find their way out. Our maze needed to be more entertaining, and we desperately wanted out.
This course took us farther away and caused us to walk about 2 extra miles in a large circle heading northwest, arcing north, and then southeast. We finally found the dam and climbed to the top. I was deeply disappointed because I still could not spot the clearing. By now, the temperature dropped into the 30s. My friend was preoccupied with the realistic dangers of hypothermia. Yelling to make himself heard above the din of sound, he said to his son, “We’ve got no choice. We’re going to get some leaves to put on the ground. You are going to lie on top of those leaves. Mark and I will lie on top of you to keep you warm.” He went on to give his son instructions about what he should do if something should happen to himself and me—mainly, stay put and watch for a rescue helicopter the following day. (It was questionable if a boat could get to our spot.)
Immediately after my friend completed his instructions, lightning flashed in the sky. I saw the clearing.
Many challenges still lay ahead. We crossed a single pipe about six inches in diameter that ran above the water line over the canal. But we were moving due south into the clearing, and we were of good cheer. Thankfully, no sloughs diverted our path once we reached the clearing. We walked about a half mile until we once again encountered the creek. I was counting that the four gas pipes crossing the creek and lying side by side would still be above water. They weren’t, but the water reached only to our lower shins. Still, the current could have swept us down the creek if we had been distracted. So my friend handed me their guns and placed his son on his shoulders. It was tricky, but we walked across the water on the pipes and made it to the other side. We had another quarter mile to go, heading south in the clearing. We weren’t home free, but home for the first time in several hours was a realistic possibility. The last trial we faced was circling one more small slough immediately before we reached the area where our cars were parked. The slough had been filled with water since we left, but we made it around.
Safety at last.
Looking back, you would have thought that we would have rejoiced and offered sacrifices in a celebration of Life. But we were cold, wet, and exhausted. With nary a word, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
Here is the point I want to make. This story would have been different if we had a compass and flashlight. But in my self-confidence based upon the fact that I knew our land on White Oak Creek so well, it never occurred to me that we could have faced a situation that could have trumped my knowledge. I had never used a compass at White Oak Creek. In the back of my mind, I always counted on things like seeing the stars or the direction that the moss was growing on trees should I ever need to gain a sense of direction. As for the flashlight, in my complacency, I never entertained the idea that operating from my gut could lead to negative consequences.
But Life threw me a curve. A storm hit that I never anticipated. The rain and the utter darkness were such that I lost all points of orientation. And I led us the wrong way.
I know a lot of religious leaders in today’s world who are doing the same thing. They are totally confident they know where they are going. They are so convinced that they have left their compass behind, forgetting that the compass is God’s word.
They consider themselves enlightened, forgetting that God’s word is the light.
Yes, too many spiritual leaders have jettisoned God’s word. They have forgotten the passages in the Old and the New Testaments that emphasize the compass-like ability of God’s word. Passages like:
- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105 ESV).
- “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 ESV).
- “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways” (Ps. 119:15 ESV).
These leaders lead their people into the forest, believing they know the way. But they have lost it. We live in a time of storms. Too many Christian leaders depend upon their own knowledge and ability to discern their way. For example, amid the turbulence of our culture, a lot of intelligent, religious people think they know what Christians should do about our…
- sexuality
- marriage
- children
Yet they are ignorant of Scripture. (I use the word “ignorant” advisedly: they ignore God’s teaching.) This ignorance has seeped into the minds of the millennial generation and Gen Z.
Consider this. A few years ago, my daughter was hanging out with several twenty-somethings and having a casual discussion. The subject of sexuality came up, particularly fornication (a formal word that means “sex between a man and woman before marriage”) and homosexuality.
The group (except for my daughter) wasn’t convinced the Bible discussed homosexuality at all and wasn’t clear on what lines two people in love could cross sexually. Some thought the traditional church was making too big a deal about these being sins.
My daughter referenced verses in the Old and New Testament that addressed sexuality and sexual immorality. Her acquaintances were stunned (and some still weren’t convinced). Their typical comment was, “I haven’t heard these verses before.” You need to know most of that group were raised in conservative Christian churches. Yet, they were navigating through Life without their compass.
Just in case, let’s list (by no means exhaustive) some of the verses from the Bible regarding sexuality:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27 ESV).
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24 ESV).
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Lev. 18:22 ESV).
“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:26-27 ESV).
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11 ESV).
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:18-20 ESV).
“But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion (1 Cor. 7:9 ESV).
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5:5 ESV).
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thess. 4:3-4 ESV).
“The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:10 ESV).
“Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7 ESV).
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8 ESV).
Too many ministers, church leaders, biblical scholars, and bloggers lead people astray. I did my best at White Oak Creek, yet I led my friends into a disorienting, wandering journey into the night. Likewise, too many contemporary Christian opinion leaders are doing the same. We need more than our own personal knowledge. Only God can be trusted to know the way. His word is critical to guide us in our journey.
A few years ago, a movie called The Golden Compass came out. I did not see it, but I can tell you there is a golden compass; the real golden compass is the Word of God. And it shines bright.
I’m Mark Edge; thanks for reading.
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You can purchase Mark’s new book Holy Chaos How To Walk with God in a Frenzied World here:
So good, Mark!