Instructions. Whenever we buy something that needs to be put together, that item comes with an instruction manual. It shows how to put the item together, piece by piece, step by step. Whether it’s building a new furniture piece, integrating a new computer, or building a new bike for your kids, they all come with an instruction manual. Sadly though, many don’t use it. Believing they know the steps already, they take a blind step of faith and begin assembling without ever referencing the instructions. I’m not sure if it’s pure arrogance or just blatant ignorance but either way, the assembly manual is tossed aside believing it can be built, installed or integrated without any help from the manufacturer. The end result is often not quite how it was supposed to be. Maybe something was left out or something doesn’t fit quite right, or it just doesn’t work properly. Now occasionally it does work but hit and miss is never the right formula. We need a manual, a map, to get us to the final destination of whatever our end goal is.

However when it comes to life, most if not all would love to have a step-by-step guide how to live; how to handle their finances; how to be successful in life and be the best version of themselves they could be. To know one’s purpose and how to fulfill it to the utmost! If someone had such a manual, it would sell like hotcakes off the shelves of the stores.

What’s amazing is there is such a book. It’s considered the number one best seller of all time. It’s been read all over the world in many different nations, by millions of different people, throughout many different generations. It contains the instructions for life. It shows the blueprint of our lives and how to follow it to success and fulfillment for each individual’s purpose. It promises not only a full life on this Earth but also eternal life after we leave this one. It’s loved. It’s hated. It’s revered. It’s reviled. It has one name.

The Bible.

Now before you tune me out thinking “Oh here we go with this Bible stuff”, here me out. The Bible is God’s instructions for humanity. It shows us how lost we truly are. It shows us how inept we are when left to ourselves and our utter need for some type of intermediary, to step in and do for us what we just can’t ever seem to do for ourselves. It’s God’s voice to his children.

The difficult part for most is this Bible calls for us to do something to obtain this success; to achieve our purpose. It calls for us to let go and die to our own plans. That means surrender. The word ‘surrender’ is not a word many are too fond of these days. In a world where we are barraged with slogans such as “Just do it!” and “Do what feels good” or “Just be you”, the word surrender stands in complete contrast. But here is the thing. All these modern slogans and belief systems have the same fault. They never live up to the hype. As good as they seem and as much emotional hype they may stir up, they always ultimately fail us. Only by letting go and surrendering ourselves to the Lord, and adhering to the Bible (the Word of God), can we know the life that is truly life. God’s Word calls us to the cross. The cross is where Jesus died. It also means death for us. But the good news is that the cross is just the first step. After the cross is where it really gets good. After Jesus died on the cross, three days later He rose from the grave and 40 days later, ascended back to Heaven. There is life after the cross. Real, genuine, honest life. Life that never disappoints and never fails.

Now I’m not promising a life that means being wealthy and having all the toys one can accumulate. It doesn’t mean always being the boss of the company you work for. It’s not about having the most friends or being the coolest person in your school. All those those things are temporal. They are short-lived and not what life is truly about.

God sent His Son to give humanity true life and bring us back to Him. We are lost kids who need to get back to our Father. Jesus purchased this for us, whether we know we are lost yet or not. God promised to save us from our faults and weaknesses, our sins, to empower us to live above the limitations of this world and to know a peace that the world can never give. The Bible contains the steps to get there. It shows us how we are to live, daily, as we stay surrendered to God and alive by His presence dwelling within us. The Word of God is our weapon in this life to live as God originally intended for His children. It’s our blueprint and our guide. He gave us His Word for that “He would never leave us or forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5).

Pick up the Word today. Read it. Study it. Follow it. Live by it. And watch your life radically transform into the life that is truly life.

Blessings.