Recently I finished a tile project in the kitchen. I had never used this tile cutter before, so, I decided to do something smart; I read the instructions. I came across the most interesting paragraph. It read:
“The warnings, precautions, and instructions discussed in this instruction manual cannot cover all possible conditions and situations that may occur. It must be understood by the operator that common sense and caution are factors which cannot be built into this product, but must be supplied by the operator.”
Now that is a disclaimer!
In other words, they have explained the right way to use the product, and they have given reasonable warnings. But no manual can devise warnings for every possible misuse of their product. A little “common sense and caution…must be supplied by the operator.”
When it comes to the Bible, the same is true. The Bible is a tremendous collection of law, history, poetry, wisdom, prophets, letters, and apocalyptic literature. It tells us how to be saved. It tells us the proper way to live in order to go to heaven.
But it can’t list everything in the “don’t” category. Even if God tried, which He doesn’t, people would look for loopholes. Yet, people seem to want to hold the Bible to a ridiculous standard: “It doesn’t say I can’t!”
A little common sense would go a long way for reading God’s Word. That’s why Paul writes in Philippians 2:12, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” In doing so, we receive the grace God provided through His Son.
So…give the Bible a read. It isn’t a list of every “don’t;” we must supply a bit of common sense and caution. But it does reveal the words of eternal life (John 6:68).
There is one main reason for using a tile cutter – to cut tile! There is one main reason for reading God’s Word – to be assured of eternal life. If you skipped reading the instructions, you probably missed something important!
“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:26).
