Planer Graphs and Dr. Seuss

Without getting too technical I want to talk to you about graphs. You know, those things you probably hated to do in math class. When you get into a little more advanced mathematics it’s important to know if a graph is planer or not. That’s p-l-a-n-e-r. In other words, do all of the connectors on the graph lie in the same plane with no overlapping connectors?

The following graphs show simple planer graphs.

The second shows the connectors overlapping, however it can be redrawn in “planer” fashion as shown below.

The last shows a non-planer graph. The connectors overlap. It cannot be redrawn to eliminate the intersections.

Our lives are not planer. We have to interact with others. It’s called life. It’s the place where change occurs, decisions are made. When you met your spouse, that moment became an intersection for you. The two of you were traveling different directions. The dynamics at that intersection were strong enough to take both of you a different direction.

Sadly, many live their lives trying to avoid the intersections. They order the various aspects of their life with as few intersections as possible. This is not how God created you to live. Others think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, regardless of what others may think; go any direction they choose without thought of who or what may be in their way. This is not how God created us to live.

Dr. Seuss is an amazing theologian. He wrote a book about Zax.

One day, making tracks In the prairie of Prax, 

Came a North-Going Zax And a South-Going Zax. 

And it happened that both of them came to a place 

Where they bumped. There they stood.Foot to foot. Face to face.  

“Look here, now!” the North-Going Zax said, “I say! 

You are blocking my path. You are right in my way. 

I’m a North-Going Zax and I always go north. 

Get out of my way, now, and let me go forth!”  

“Who’s in whose way?” snapped the South-Going Zax. 

“I always go south, making south-going tracks. 

So you’re in MY way! And I ask you to move 

And let me go south in my south-going groove.”  

Then the North-Going Zax puffed his chest up with pride. 

“I never,” he said, “take a step to one side. 

And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways 

If I have to keep standing here fifty-nine days!”  

“And I’ll prove to YOU,” yelled the South-Going Zax, 

“That I can stand here in the prairie of Prax 

For fifty-nine years! For I live by a rule 

That I learned as a boy back in South-Going School. 

Never budge! That’s my rule. Never budge in the least! 

Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east! 

I’ll stay here, not budging! I can and I will 

If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!”  

Well...Of course the world didn’t stand still. The world grew. 

In a couple of years, the new highway came through 

And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax 

And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.

When we’re born, we have a pre-disposition to go a certain direction, the way of Adam. Jesus came to be an intersection in our life. He forces us to make decisions, to change direction. Jesus comes to us to show us “The Way, The Truth, The Life.” We now have a choice to make. Do we continue to follow “our” path or do we choose His way for us?

This is where the phrase “cross roads” comes from. You see, the roadway system is not planer! In the early days of automobiles there were some strange procedures developed to ensure you did not have a collision at intersections, or cross roads. You first had to stop the vehicle and shut off the engine. You then sounded your horn to indicate your presence. If there was no response it was suggested that you then fire a shot with your gun to indicate you were about to enter the intersection; very different than today’s driving.

If you notice, there’s always traffic control devices at cross roads. It’s as simple as a stop sign, or as complex as multiple direction traffic lights. These are all designed to keep us out of trouble.

The same is true when you begin your journey on the path of Christ. Our spiritual “traffic controller” is the Holy Spirit. That is why it is so important to learn to hear His voice. He speaks to give us information that will help as we traverse the non-planer graph known as the Christian life.

Communion is one such “cross roads” that we must choose to encounter. It’s a built in rest stop on our journey where we can take opportunity to rest our souls, check the tires, see if there’s anything that is going un-noticed on our vehicle, and deal with it. Paul said to “consider the Lord’s body” to see if there’s anything unclean in us. It gives us a chance to adjust our course, check our map to see if we are still on track with the Holy Spirit, pursuing the destiny that we took on when we encountered Jesus at the “Salvation Cross Road.”

It is not ironic that the symbol of our faith today is a cross. As a matter of fact, it is the very reason Jesus came from heaven to earth. He came to “cross” our path to introduce us to the Father. What will you do with your “Cross road” moment? Let’s choose well. Let us choose Christ.