Comfort and Compass
Author name
Midweek Message
This past weekend was my 30th college reunion at Emory & Henry in Virginia. It was a beautiful weekend, and I enjoyed seeing and catching up with some of my classmates, many of whom I hadn’t connected with in several years. I also enjoyed visiting some of my familiar haunts, including the chapel that’s at the heart of campus.
In the back of the chapel, above the balcony, there is this stained-glass window that I have always found myself drawn to. I love the image of Jesus with one arm around the shoulders of an apparently uncertain young man, pulling him into a side-hug, and the other arm confidently pointing in a direction in which the young man should possibly go, providing clarity in the midst of a very busy, even chaotic backdrop.
Perhaps this window resonates so much with me because I was an uncertain young man when I was in college. I wasn’t sure the direction in which I should go. I had sensed a calling into ministry, but I also felt like I needed to keep my options open. My dad died of cancer my senior year, which only deepened the sense of uncertainty and chaos. How I wished that Jesus would have simply shown up, put his arms around my shoulder, and pointed out to me the way he wanted me to go. Or maybe he had been doing that and this window was the sign I had been praying for, even though I couldn’t see it as such at the time.
Looking back now from the perspective of 30 years, I believe I can see that Jesus has been by my side all along, with one arm to be my comfort and the other to be my compass. I can also see that there have been several others along the way—mentors, colleagues, friends—who have been the arms of Jesus for me, who have put their arm around me and have pointed out a way forward for me in the name of Jesus.
How about you? How have you experienced the comforting presence of Jesus with you, and the confident guidance of Jesus, especially in times of uncertainty or chaos? Who in your life has been the arms of Jesus for you, providing comfort and pointing a way forward for you? And for whom might you provide comfort and a compass today in the name of Christ?
