I was staring at the river this morning on the way to work (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving) – marveling at its power and thinking the possibility of renting an inflatable kayak this summer and going white-water rafting. I love the idea of doing something like Whitewater rafting, and I hear that tour companies such as American Whitewater Expeditions can offer amazing trips for all of the adventitious people like myself.

As I was going over the details of such a trip in my head, the below analogy jumped out at me (again, it was a good think I wasn’t driving!):

There are two ways of preparing for rafting a new stretch of white-water rapids – the first is the buy a river rafter guide and study it. Perhaps even walk or drive the river, looking at all the different rapids and were one would need to go in order to safely navigate the white-water.

The other way is to find a guide who knows that particular stretch of river. They could then tell you about the different hazards, show them to you on the map, and even direct you through the tough parts as you both travel down stream.

As you can imagine, while the first option is doable, the second one is better as you have someone traveling with you through all the dangerous points. All you need to do is follow that guide and you will be fine.

In a similar way, when following Jesus it is helpful to have a guide who intimacy knows Him. Someone who has spend years talking to and listening to Jesus – someone who is ‘doing the stuff’ that Jesus did – someone who reflexes the character of Jesus because they have walked so close to Jesus that Jesus himself rubbed off on them.

Knowing and following such a person – a mentor or spiritual elder – is a good thing as that person can help guide you through the rapids of life. They have already been there – and they know the way through. All we need to do is to stick with that person and ‘catch’ the life they have in Jesus.

Yet too many times, we ignore those who have walked before us – trusting instead to our personal understanding of the river map (i.e. the Bible). And while we can make it through the rapids of life by reading and studying the Bible, it is a whole lot easier and, dare I say it, better if we find ourselves a guide.

As the old saying goes, following Jesus is caught, not taught.