Several weeks ago, I had a tooth come apart, which meant a trip to the dentist. Fortunately, the tooth didn’t hurt and they were able to fit me into their schedule fairly quickly!! YAY!! So, off to the dentist I went. Now I could bore you with all the details of what had to be done…and what is still left to do. Let me just say one word, “implant” and some of you will understand.
Anyway, some fairly significant dental work had to be done during that office visit. My dentist did a good job with the procedure, explaining what had to be done and what he was doing. He also explained what I needed to do over the course of the next week or so. He sent me home with a sheet of instructions, some gauze, and a prescription, all contained nicely in a plastic bag so none of it would get lost.
About a week later I had a couple of questions about some things, wondering if I could / should do this or that to aid in the healing and recovery process. I called the dentist office and they scheduled me to come back in. Everything checked out OK and then I asked my questions. The dentist listened to me, answered my questions, and then sent me on my way.
Another week passed by and everything seemed to be going well in the mouth department. Then one evening I was dealing with some of my stuff that was laying around the house and I came across a little plastic bag with some gauze and a sheet of instructions in it. “Oh yeah.” I thought to myself. I pulled out the instructions and there written on that sheet of paper were the answers to some of the questions that I had had from a week earlier. Hmmmm…. I wonder if my dentist was thinking as I asked my questions the week earlier, “You didn’t read the instructions. Read the Instructions.” He would have had every right to say that to me, but of course, he didn’t. He was too kind to do that. I realized though, that I could have saved myself a couple days of wandering, before calling and making the second appointment if I had only read the instructions.
At times I have to wonder if God ever feels that way too. You see, God has given us the Bible, God’s written word, to help us navigate the life of faith. Now I don’t necessarily believe the Bible is an instruction manual like one might think of, telling you how to effectively work an appliance, or such. Yet the Bible is God’s word for us, telling us the story of God and the story of people seeking to live faithfully. A big part of why, as followers of Jesus, we are encouraged to read the Bible daily, is so that as we read God’s story, we learn more and more about who God is and how God seeks for us to live.
I understand that at times the Bible doesn’t speak directly into the situation we may find ourselves in here on earth. So, we may find ourselves turning to God in prayer. “God, what should I do?” “God, how do I deal with this situation?” “God, how do I follow you more closely?” Certainly, God always wants to hear from us and talk with us in prayer. But I wonder if God ever thinks… “If you’d read the instructions…if you’d read my word, you’d find the insight and direction you are looking for.”
Of course, the life of faith is more complex than my dental work, and certainly the instruction sheet from my dentist is much briefer than the Bible. However, how often have I complained to God about something, when I haven’t even opened…or thought of, looking in God’s word for insight. May that be our practice each and every day, to open God’s word and receive God’s guidance and love for our lives.
Pastor Keith