Please notice that in the picture above, Jesus does not carry a Bible or any religious tracts.
It seems at times that we have lost our way. Being immersed so deeply in the words that others wrote long ago, we have trapped ourselves in a maze of confusion. And while mulling over the multitude of interpretations, opinions and translations of the Bible where these words are contained, in an attempt to “better understand the mysteries of life”, we have completely missed the point of our existence.
Compare the Bible to a manual for assembling a bicycle. The Bible contains all the necessary information and instructions that the Creator deemed necessary for building and living a Godly life, or in our comparison case, a bicycle.
The first step is to check our parts list for any missing components. Once we are sure they are all there we can start our work. The problem is, the manual was written before there were cameras and the designer didn’t draw any pictures of the parts or the finished product. He only gave vivid descriptions of what it should look like when completed so we read the entire text and are at least able to create a mental picture of the bicycle. We decide we have a very good idea what the designer wants.
You, being an intelligent person with good mechanical skills, decide to give it a try. You are relatively sure all the parts are there so you move on to step two. Gathering the necessary tools. You’re pretty sure you have all the tools you need… at least enough to get started, so it’s on to step three; Read all the instructions again and again and once you feel you have a clear picture to get started, you dive in.
Seeing your excited interest in whatever it is you’re doing, your neighbors stop by to check it out. Being a patient man, you listen carefully to all their opinions and advise before continuing. After all… two or three heads are usually better than one… right?
Now we know you have received a lot of information from your onlookers and some seem to know a lot about the mechanics of your project, even though none of them has seen the finished project. So, do you take their advise with a grain of salt, or do you follow their ideas? You decide to put your heads together, so to speak, and continue.
“No, no, no! That’s not the headset… that’s the bottom bracket.”
“No that must be the fork.”
“I believe it’s the derailleur.”
“Look you guys, there are four of us here and we should be able to figure this thing out but we need to get organized. Form some kind of order. Maybe like what each of us are bringing to the table. What we know from our own respective areas of expertise. It would be so less confusing. Don’t you think?”
“Forget it! I’m going to build my own bike.”
“Yeah me too.”
“Sound’s good to me.”
You think good-riddance, and continue on your own until you come up with the idea that contacting the original designer… or at least his representatives, might be the better place to start.
Six months later all three neighbors have finished their projects and are ready to present them to the World at the first ‘International Bike Show’. It’s a great success. All three bikes have millions of eager buyers. Everyone has what he considers to be the best bicycle on the planet and is sure their bike will take them right where they need to go.
The problem:
Everyone had spent so much time dissecting and analyzing the manual that they missed the purpose of the bike and had no idea how to ride it or where they were going. Except, that is, for the manual’s first owner who sought out the original designer, who in turn, taught him how to ride and showed him the path to the final destination.
When religion becomes our god the real God can only wait until we crash before He can repair and sooth our misguided souls. It’s not the manual but the Immanuel that leads us to building the perfect bike. He sent the Holy Spirit to explain the Manual. Why should we believe what another flawed, imperfect human being says? Are we not born again? So why return to the old bondage or baggage of religion?
