Having served in the U.S. Navy and having been taught how to navigate a ship (before the GPS System was available), I learned that all mariners who sailed the oceans of our globe, having no points of land for reference, could only find their way by studying the heavens in order to determine their exact position and thereby set the course to their destination. Since the position of the primary stars has been calculated for every day of the year, by determining his position in relation to those stars (called “bearings”), the skilled navigator can “plot” his ship’s precise location on his charts. From that determination he can decide on the necessary course (direction) to set that will take the ship to its desired destination. The night allows sailors to know where they are, but they cannot see where they are going. During the day the Sun allows mariners to see where they are heading, but they cannot determine exactly where they are. Navigators need to regularly experience both the day and the night in order to safely navigate the world’s oceans.

For many Christians, just “maintaining the ship” and “standing watches” are all that is necessary to fulfill their spiritual duties. They don’t really know where they are; neither do they know exactly where they are going. They are more passengers than participants. I hope that just going through the motions of “shipboard life” is not enough for you. It definitely is not enough for me!