Beyond BeliefSample

When traveling, there are two types of guides you come across. The first find is a tour guide — the kind who takes you through a museum or an unfamiliar city. They give you information about what you're seeing and point you towards interesting stuff, but they're not bossing you around. You can linger at an interesting exhibit, move ahead and catch the rest of the group later . . . or if you're bored, just leave whenever you feel like it.

The other kind of guide is like a safari guide — taking you through a jungle or maybe up a mountain. These guides aren't just giving you a tour. They're in charge of your safety. You'd better stick close to them and not wander off, or you might get lost and find yourself in serious trouble.

Do you think God is more like a tour guide or a safari guide? Are we following someone who's there to help us understand where we're at? Or are we blindly guiding someone who's there to protect us?

According to the Bible, the answer is both. When Jesus told the disciples he was leaving, he also told them not to worry, because he was sending them a guide. That guide is the Holy Spirit, who is here to both teach us and protect us.

God doesn't ask us to just blindly follow, no questions asked. We have a guide who wants to both teach us and protect us so that we can trust that we're being led in the right direction.