The Cross Road

from June 2020

Displacement

by Beth Maxwell

All of us at one time or another will find ourselves at a crossroad; when we do, which way will we go?

One of my favorite movies is “Castaway,” starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt. There are a couple of scenes in the movie that make me choke up every time: the scene when Wilson floats away, and then the very last scene where Hanks is standing at the crossroad.

In the movie, Tom Hanks’s character, Chuck Noland, is a time-obsessed FedEx systems analyst who travels the world, taking care of productivity problems. His plane crashes on an island, and he realizes he’s the only survivor; then FedEx packages start washing ashore. He decides to leave one unopened, and it’s almost as if you can read his mind, that he plans to deliver this package to the owner as soon as he gets off of the island. I see this unopened package representing hope for him.

As we put ourselves in his position, wondering what we would do in his situation, we know we would do the same thing and leave. With his makeshift raft, the unopened package, and Wilson in tow, he finally finds himself out in the endless expanse of the deep blue sea, not knowing if he will survive at this point, but knowing he has no choice but to leave.

Then the harrowing scene with Wilson’s floating away gets me choked up and in tears every time. When at last he’s finally rescued, he finds himself surrounded by those who thought he was dead. He finds so much has changed, and he can’t go back to the way it was before.

We don’t know how many days have taken place, from the time he comes back to his previous life, until he finds himself at a crossroad with the unopened package, trying to find the owner.

This particular scene in the movie really gets to me every time. It tugs at my heart, knowing that he must find the owner of the unopened package. It’s what he clung to for those four years on the island, his hope, and now, he doesn’t know which way to go. It makes me think of crossroads that we may have in our own lives at one time or another. Maybe we don’t know what to do in a certain situation. Maybe it’s a major decision, or even a minor one perhaps. If we don’t have the answer, we might not know who to turn to.

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).

When we find ourselves at a crossroad, ask the one who is our hope: His name is Jesus, and He can point you in the right direction. Listen to the one who represents your hope because He can lead you through any crossroad that you may face.

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Garbage In, Garbage Out

50 // June 2020

by Jenice Saint

Jenice Saint is a graduate of Lee University. She sings on the praise team at Grace Community Church in Cleveland, Tennessee. About The Author D o you remember the children’s song, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see”? And another verse that went, “Oh be careful little ears what you hear”? You’ve probably heard the term, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

To illustrate, if you put incorrect data into a computer program, you will not obtain the desired results. If you don’t put the correct ingredients in a cooking recipe, you won’t end up with a flavorful dish. If you put diesel fuel in a gasoline engine, it’s going to shut down. Similarly, if we don’t guard what we are putting into our mind, we can’t expect a good outcome.

It really does matter what we watch on TV, which magazines we read, what we look at on the Internet, which songs we listen to, etc.

Have you ever watched a horror movie late at night and then had trouble going to sleep? Or maybe the movie even gave you nightmares?

How many unfortunate and sad stories have we heard about someone who started looking at things on the Internet that they knew in their heart they shouldn’t look at? Some even later resulted in being arrested for Internet crimes, losing their marriage, family, and career. When we allow our mind to receive garbage in, it’s going to eventually result in garbage out. The garbage out might be in the form of fear (because we watched a horror movie), or unhealthy desires (because we viewed pictures on the Internet that are unwholesome), or foul language (because we listened to songs that contained words we shouldn’t be hearing). Over time, we can become desensitized to things that are not pleasing to God, and they can begin to consume our thoughts and our desires.

Philippians 4:8 directs us, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” What a contrast this verse presents us to what the world offers us! Let’s turn this around to, “Treasures In, Treasures Out.” It’s never too late to start filling your mind with good things, things that please God. Put His Treasures in your mind: read His Word, and listen to music and teachings that uplift Him. Then we can expect Treasures Out: peace of mind, a lack of fear, wholesome desires, good attitudes, compassion for others, and a desire to serve God.

William James, an American philosopher, once said, “If you can change your mind, you can change your life.” Let us purpose to reduce the unhealthy input into our mind, and resolve to try to accommodate godly influence into our thoughts so that God has an avenue through His Holy Spirit to change our lives for the better, for His glory.