Follow Instructions…
Recent events in my life have required me to assemble several pieces of furniture. I realize most of these pieces are now manufactured in China. I am convinced there is a Chinese plot to bury America in cardboard and Styrofoam.
I learned that following instructions is essential. I also learned that most of the instructions are written by someone who does not have English as their first language. The instructions are often just diagrams, with blow-ups of certain details. I am not certain if my eyes are failing or the Chinese are trying to conserve ink, but I often am puzzled over which hole to use for the bolts and which hole to leave empty.
The instructions refer to bolts, nuts, and screws that I am to use. These are labeled, but the print is so small that it requires a magnifying glass to read. The different types of fasteners can be overwhelming. When bolt numbers run from 1 to 18, that’s too many different bolts.
Usually included are a small allen wrench (which I cannot bear to throw away; I have about twenty), a small screwdriver, and sometimes a special wrench with the thickness of a dime. The wrench and allen wrench are designed to bang your knuckles into sharp metal edges so you will be adequately scratched and bruised. Fortunately, I have my own tools, including my cordless drill, which will speed the process along. Unfortunately, cheap Chinese metal often bends when I apply too much torque from the drill. When that happens, I must apply farmer engineering, which involves WD-40 and duct tape.
It took two and a half hours to assemble one bookshelf. Included in that time was disassembling and reassembling the piece I put on backwards. I am certain it was not my ineptitude; it had to be those dang Chinese instructions.
My next assembly project was putting together a queen box spring. Remember the good old days, when you went to a furniture store and bought a box spring made out of wood that had actual springs underneath the fabric? These days, box springs come in a box and must be put together. No one has a workbench big enough to hold a box spring, so you must put it together on the floor, bent over. After two hours of putting bolt 12 through hole C on part H and attaching nut 4 and washer 3, I was walking like the hunchback assistant of some evil scientist, muttering to myself like some demented person. I had to disassemble part of the mattress, too, when I put a piece in backwards.
Then I had to tackle putting together a small kitchen table. How hard could that be? Five pieces of wood had to lean on each other for support until they could be joined by bolts and nuts. It was like playing “Jenga;” you never knew when the fall was coming.
I had time to think while doing all this assembly work. First, I appreciated even more that God simply spoke and said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Imagine if the sun had come with assembly instructions: “Insert quadrillion particles of hydrogen and oxygen. Initiate combustion. Insert axis, being careful not to touch the flammable material. Blow on combustion to begin rotation. Repeat with billions of stars.” I admit, I wished to be God so I could speak, and shelves would assemble, box springs would come together, and tables would hold in place while bolts were inserted.
There was also a second lesson: follow the instructions. I am thankful God did not give us life instructions in Chinese or in diagrams that are hard to follow. How did God give us instructions? By sending his son to earth. Yes, Jesus taught us the truth of God. But more than that, he showed us how to live, how to surrender, how to pray, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Yes, the Bible records God’s revelation. It gives us teaching. But the ultimate instructions are found in the life of Jesus.
I wonder how many Jesus followers begin their day with “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” When we must have hard conversations, do we think, “What would Jesus say?” When temptation presents itself, do we say like our Master, “Get away from me, Satan.” When people hurt us, can we be like Jesus and say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
God’s instructions are really pretty simple to discover: look at Jesus. Ask God to make your heart like his, so your decisions are like his. To follow God’s instructions, simply follow Jesus.