When all else fails ...
We were stuck. My son was helping me install a new CD drive in my
computer, and all was not well. It wasn't working. "We're stuck", I
sighed, and looking at each other, we said almost in unison "If all
else fails, read the instructions!" The manufacturer had been
there before us, and sure enough, the booklet showed us what to do, and
we fixed the problem. We had been guilty of thinking we knew how to
solve the problem on our own and consequently wasted a lot of time.
Tricky things, computers. Amazingly useful if you know how to work
them, terribly frustrating if you haven't learned about them, or been
shown the right way of going on.
A bit like life really. Almost anyone you talk to seems to feel that
'things are not getting better', and will shake their head over
hooliganism, violence, divorce rates, crime and so on. All of them
things that have gone wrong when they should be going right. I do
believe that this is a consequence of a general tendency today to
disregard our Maker's instructions, and go for something that seems
more 'modern' and less 'restrictive'. This wastes a lot of time, and
peace can retire into the far distance.
Mind you, the Bible is a complex book. Some parts are unbelievably
obscure, but others are as neat and clear as can be, and give precise
directions on how our Maker designed us to operate. We all probably
know some bits - "The Lord's my Shepherd" is often sung, and each
Christmas carol service we hear "In the beginning was the Word ... to
all who receive Him ... He gave the right to become the children of
God".
But there is much, much more and you can find directions on how to make
stable marriages, bring up children, seek healing, and look after one
another.
I well remember also the business consultancy that ran very successful
management courses that were solidly based on the Bible book called
Proverbs. Their clients prospered!
I can look for ages in my computer books for answers to problems - that
is why I so much appreciate talking to someone with wider experience.
And so it is with God's instructions. Should you be stuck, you might
just like to come to one of us in the Cogges churches, and the
likelihood is that we can say "Ah yes, I think it can be tackled like
this..."
David Smith
Cogges Parish |
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Following issue
© 1999;
Published in Cogges Parish monthly newsletter,
number 238, March 1999
cogges.pcc@comlab.ox.ac.uk
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