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A Reference Point When Life Is In Disorder




Disorder:  a disturbance in physical or mental health or functions; malady or dysfunction...

I once heard a story about a man who, no matter where he went in a large building, always started at the same fixed reference point.  The reference point was a landmark located outside the front door of the building.  If he went to an office, he started at the reference point.  If he had to go to another office within the building, he would never go directly to that office but would go outside the building to his reference point and then go back into the building to the office he wanted to go to.  If he was unsure where an office was, he always asked for directions to that office but the directions had to include starting from his fixed reference point.

While I’m certainly not a trained mental health care professional, it seems this person has some of the classic symptoms of a disorder.  And while his behavior may seem bizarre to us, it could actually be instructional for us.  How so?

First, he never went anywhere without first knowing where he started from.  Likewise, we must always know where we started from and that is Christ Himself.  He is the foundation on which all else is built (1 Cor 3:10-11).

Second, he always used a fixed point of reference no matter where he was going.  Likewise, we also need a fixed point of reference and that is Christ Himself.  We are to fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2).

In a way, the man was very orderly in his disorder!  We need to be very orderly in the midst of the disorder of our world.  No matter where we go, we need to remember where we started from.  And, no matter where we go, we use a fixed point of reference.  In both cases it must be Christ Himself!


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