into the night possible, but still, it wasn't easy. Maybe ... Why should he work all hours of the night? ... Only last y
A Map to Follow By Bonnie Rose Hudson “Gerhardus, come to bed. It is late.” Gerhardus sat up straight and rubbed his eyes. The candlelight made working on his maps late into the night possible, but still, it wasn’t easy. Maybe his wife was right. Maybe it was time to turn in. Why should he work all hours of the night? His eyes fell on to the map of Palestine in front of him. His skills as a map maker were becoming widely known. Only last year, he had helped complete a globe of the earth. And this year already, a globe of the heavens. He loved making maps, he truly did. It stirred something deep within him. But he had never been able to understand what that something was. “Go to bed, Barbara, I’ll be along shortly.” Before he turned in, he knew he needed to do one more thing. He needed to know why he did what he did. Why did he create maps? Why did geography and cartography fascinate him so? He looked at the map sketches in front of him. People had to know where they were. And they had to know how to get to where they were going. That was the central purpose of a map, wasn’t it? To show people where they were and to show them how to get to where they want to be? A spark of a thought kindled in the corner of his mind. Wasn’t that same principle true in other matters, such as matters of faith? Wasn’t that part of what he had studied for so many years in the university? Man had to know where he was and how to get to where he wanted to be. He studied the map of Palestine before him. Samaria. Jerusalem. Both fallen capitals of people sent into exile from their homeland because of their sin. Was he so different? A man, who had been separated from God because of his sin and disobedience? Bethlehem. A tiny village forgotten by many. Yet it was here that God revealed a portion of his plan for bringing exiled mankind, including Gerhardus, back to himself. Cana. Nain. Nazareth. Bethany. All cities where Jesus had demonstrated his love for mankind and his power to undo the curse, to mend the broken, to call his people back from exile and into a life with God. And Jerusalem once more. Where the defeat of sin was accomplished once for all in Jesus’ death and his resurrection. And where his followers were sent out into all the world to share the
© Bonnie Rose Hudson www.writebonnierose.com
message of God’s redeeming love. God had given his people, in his Word, the map they needed to guide their hearts. Gerhardus could help give them a map to guide their feet. He glanced over at his wife, sleeping in their bed. He would work just a little longer. The spread of the message could not wait.
© Bonnie Rose Hudson www.writebonnierose.com
