Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Directional Worship - Worship North

North?

Compass.
Right?

The compass has been around for a while. The first known compass came from China about a thousand years ago and, like noodles, Europe began using them about 300 years later. Travelers noticed that a magnetized needle floating on a chip of wood always swung around to point north. Others found that by using a piece of lodestone suspended by a thread, the lodestone, a naturally magnetic material, would also point north. People back then would believe the needle or lodestone was being moved by a magical force or by “The Great Magician”. For what logical reason would there be for it to spin around and point north?

Today, we know that the Earth is actually a huge magnet. It has two poles; one on the top and one on the bottom. But the north geographic pole and the north magnetic pole are not one and the same on the earth. The magnetic north pole is 1400 miles away from the geographic north pole. The magnetic North pole is in northern Canada. One end of every compass needle is drawn towards it.
So…

You can make your own compass for fun! Here’s how:

Get a large darning needle. Magnetize it by stroking its entire length, 30 or more times, with the north end of a magnet bar. If you begin each stroke at the eye and end at the point, the point of the needle will be the south point on your compass and they eye will point north. The magnetic needle should be inserted into a cork… uh…

You know what?

It won’t make a lick of difference if you are really looking for True North. Remember, the magnetic north pole is 1400 miles away from the geographic north pole.

You will come up short. Always. 1400 miles short.

Unless that is what you’re willing to settle for; with that compass you’re making with your own hands.


So it is with worship.