What Direction are you heading?
- Author:
- Kevin Hopkins
What direction is the curve heading?
One of the keys concepts of calculus is that of the tangent line. In a very real sense, it gives an idea of what direction the curve is going. As you move the point, you will discover the curve is usually going up or going down. It can NOT be going both directions at the same time. For the most interesting curves, it is going either up or down fairly steeply.
In the book of Joshua, Joshua challenges the people of Israel: 24:15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,we will serve the Lord.
The people had to make a choice, who were they going to serve? It was not possible to serve both the Lord and other Gods. To decide to serve the Lord may require an abrupt change in direction (The curves above have been specifically constructed to allow for a very abrupt change in direction, this is not the type of curve usually considered in Calculus). To serve the Lord requires a conscious choice on the direction of our lives. God will help after we make that choice, but He leaves that choice up to us. If your life doesn't seem to be headed in the right direction, maybe it is time to make that choice to serve the Lord.