I want to illustrate the need for a manual.
At first the rental of storage space was reasonable. But then slowly they began to raise their rates on us.
After calculating how much had already been spent on storage and how much another year was going to cost; coupled with the knowledge that they would continue to incrementally raise the rates, we decided to get out from under their expense.
We settled on one of the RubberMaid 7X7 storage sheds.
In a few months time it will pay for itself and we will begin saving money instead of pouring it down a foolish expenditure.
The shed got delivered in a large flat box, on a wooden pallet, to our driveway.
I unpacked it and carried it, part by part, to the back yard.
A few days later I was ready to assemble the shed.
But there was one major problem, I could not locate the instruction manual.
I searched and searched but to no avail. I know it was there when I unpacked everything, but now it was nowhere to be found.
So I got online and did a search for a manual. The website had a lot of manuals but nothing for my shed model was there.
I tried to wing it and just start putting it together without instructions. The results were disastrous. The roof would not fit at all.
Well I finally came to my senses and prayed for help in finding that manual booklet. And after praying a thought hit me, "Check in the garage."
I went in there and found it sitting on the arm of an adiron chair that I am restoring. I was totally relieved.
Now I could build the shed correctly.
I had to disassemble everything. Then I had to build a plywood/two by four foundation that had to be completely level.
After a few hours the task was finished with no problems at all. Whereas before nothing was working well,without the foundation under it being level, the roof would not fit. Now it did because I followed the instructions.
There is something to those Ikea manuals and other manuals for assembling things according to the manufacturer's specifications.
Things turn out well in the end when the manual is followed exactly as specified.
Do you think that God would ever give us life and not give us instructions on living life properly? Would He not give us a manual so we can live life as He intended us to?
Would He just expect us to go live the best we can on our own, with out any instructions to life?
Of course we do have the Bible.
God's "Manufacturer's Instruction Manual."
The thought of the Bible being given to us as our Instruction manual is a very good one. The Lord created us and placed us on this earth.
But man needs guidance in how to live his life. Jeremiah the prophet put it this way, "0 Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer.10:23).
Man needs guidance or instructions in how to live his life. It's like many of the gifts our children receive for their birthdays or other occasions.
Special instructions are included to aid the parent in the assembly and operation of the toy. Without some type of instruction, many toys would be useless. Likewise, without instruction from our creator our life on this earth would be totally useless, without any real value.
The Bible gives us full and complete instruction in how to live our life here on the earth in preparation of an eternal life with the Father in heaven.
Notice the words of the apostle Paul, "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work" (2 Tim.3:16,17).
Although it is not in man to direct his own steps, our creator has supplied us with a manual to instruct us in how to live our life here and how to prepare for an eternity with Him in heaven.
The Bible instructs us how to become a child of God, a Christian. It shows us the love our creator has for us, His creation, by the sacrifice He made of His only begotten Son, Jesus.
This immeasurable love of God motivates us to become all He would have us to be. Thus, we follow His instructions to become one of His children.
He tells us to believe in Jesus as His Son and as the Messiah promised throughout the Old Testament (cf.Jn.3:16).
He tells us to believe in His Son to such a degree that we will repent of our sins (Acts 17:30), confess our faith to others (Rom.10:10), and be buried with His Son in a watery grave called baptism (Mk.16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16).
If we will follow His instructions found in the Bible, we will become a Christian, a child of God.
The Bible also instructs us of our responsibilities as a child of God. It shows us the responsibilities we have as individual Christians as well as the responsibilities we have as we work together as a congregation.
If we will follow the instructions found in the Bible we will individually become mature children of God (cf.Eph.4:11-16) and as a congregation we will become strong and influential, like the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess.1:7,8).
The Bible instructs us how to live in every relationship we may enter into in this life.
It gives instructions pertaining to our relationship to our government (Rom.13:1-8), the relationships of the home (Eph.5:22-33; 6:1-4; 1 Pet.3:1-7), economic relationships (Eph.6:5-8; Col.3:22-25), social relationships (Gal.6:10; 1 Pet.2:12; Col.4:5), and of course our spiritual relationship with the Father (Eph.4:1-16).
Since the Bible is our manufacturer's instruction manual, doesn't it make sense that we should study it more often and thoroughly than we do?
Why not dedicate yourself to a regular study of God's word?
There are some people in this day and age who would have us believe that the instruction manual to life is not really an instruction manual.
They would have me build the shed on my own without instruction. I tried that and the results were totally disastrous.
In the last year, I have found myself repeatedly meditating on the words of our Lord regarding the faith of the generation that will ultimately experience His return: “But, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8 – New English Bible)
I have time and again fixed my mind on these words because of how rapidly social and cultural trends hostile to Christ and His Church seem to have proliferated in just the past twelve months.
You know my opinion, now let's hear yours!
You can join this conversation in the comments on this page.
No comments:
Post a Comment