The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is a dangerous place. There is always a lot going on day and night when the ship is underway. Planes taking off and landing, aircraft being moved, cargo being loaded and unloaded, bombs and missiles being handled. There is jet fuel, ammunition, spinning propellers and rotors, howling jet engine intakes, and roaring exhaust and people, lots of people. It is loud almost beyond belief, and smells of fuel, hydraulic fluid, and exhaust. All of this is happening under the direction of the Air Boss, perched above the flight deck in a many-windowed tower. It is a well-oiled machine staffed by highly trained men and women. To those who know what is going on "flight ops" are thing of beauty. To the uninitiated it looks like chaos.
If you were ever to visit a carrier and arrive while it is at sea, you would come via COD. The COD is not a fish, it's a plane. COD stands for Carrier On-Board Delivery. Once on deck you would be directed to the aircraft's door, as you exited the plane you would be lead off the flight deck safely by a person wearing a vest, that they call a float-coat, with the following words stenciled in large letters across the back "FOLLOW ME". As long as you stay behind them and keep following they will get you to safety.
The world that we live in is a lot like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. There is spiritual danger, distractions, confusion, things that can hurt, or even kill us and then it gets dark! . We are, many times, not even aware of the real danger. Just as Peter could not see that Satan desired to sift him as wheat, so we can not see, we're not aware of what is going on around us all the time. We needed (still need) someone to lead us to safety (2Cor 1:10), someone who can see and knows how to lead us all the way. Up there at the right hand of the Father we have someone watching over us. His plan being executed in all the chaos that is this world.
God ministered a guide to us, He gave us Jesus!. Yes, In the midst of all that life brings we have someone to guide us to safety, someone to save us. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus told his disciples "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
We follow Him by, at the risk of oversimplifying this very important principle, being obedient to the leading of the Spirit and to His word. To be obedient to His word we have to read it, study it, and DO IT! In James 1:22 he is quite emphatic that we "...be doers of the word, and not hearers only..." I will try expound on the idea of following Christ in greater detail in another post. For now I will just add, 1 Peter 2:21 "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps." As long as we keep our focus on Jesus, and keep following (Matt 10:22) He will save us.
This song came to mind while I was writing:
Follow On
1) Down in the valley with my Savior I will go,Where the flow’rs are blooming and the sweet waters flow; Everywhere He leads me I will follow, follow on, Walking in His footsteps till the crown be won.
Refrain: Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus! Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus! Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!
2) Down in the valley with my Savior I will go, Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow; With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear, Danger cannot fright me if my Lord is near.
3) Down in the valley, or upon the mountain steep, Close beside my Savior will my soul ever keep; He will lead me safely in the path that He has trod, Up to where they gather on the hills of God.
