The Owner's Manual

We can all learn a thing or two from the owner's manual. The Bible is God's owner's manual for life.

The moment finally arrived. The delivery man from the car dealership pulled into the driveway with Michael's brand new shiny car. Michael was so excited!

The delivery man asked, "Would you like me to go over some of the car's features with you?"

Michael replied, "No, that's okay. I'm sure I can figure it out by myself. Thanks anyway."

The delivery man said, "Okay, but if you do find that you need help, the owner's manual is in the glove department." The delivery man handed Michael the keys, wished him well and left.

Michael excitedly ran to the car and pulled on the door, but it wouldn't open. Michael thought to himself, "That's odd, the doors on the car at the dealership opened with no problem." Michael walked around the car looking into the windows thinking how soft the seats looked. At that time Michael's friend Scott came over.

"Nice car Michael," said Scott. "But why are you walking around the outside looking in?"

Michael replied, "I just got this car and the doors are stuck."

Scott laughed and said, "Stuck? Did you try unlocking the doors first?"

Michael sheepishly replied, "Well no, not yet, I was just getting ready to."

Michael put one of the keys into the door lock, but it wouldn't open the door no matter how hard Michael tried to turn it.

Scott said, "You better be careful or you'll break that key off in the lock. That key is to the car's trunk. Try the other key."

Michael quickly replied, "I was just getting ready to try that."

Michael finally unlocked the car doors and sat behind the wheel. He breathed in deeply and said, "Don't you just love that new car smell?"

Scott said, "Yes, it is a great smell. Let's see how the radio sounds."

After several attempts and some guidance from Scott, Michael finally got the radio turned on. "Oh great! I got a radio that plays the wrong station and the sound is much too low!" Michael complained.

Scott groaned and said, "Michael, you push these buttons to change the radio station and turn that knob to adjust the volume level. Haven't you read the owner's manual yet? That's the first thing I did when I bought my new car."

Michael replied, "No not yet. I've been too busy, but I'll get around to it sometime soon. Right now I want to take this beauty out for a little drive!"

Scott cautioned, "Be careful Michael and please wear your seat belt."

Michael asked, "Hey Scott, think you could give me a hand with the seat belt?"

Scott walked over and helped Michael get the seat belt adjusted and warned, "I hope you know what your doing."

With that, Michael backed out of the driveway.

Much to Michael's surprise the car kept going backwards. He turned the wheel and pushed some buttons but the car kept going backwards. With great horror Scott watched as Michael backed his brand new car right into a tree. The car was ruined.

Scott ran over to Michael and asked, "Why didn't you stop?"

Michael stammered, "I didn't know how..."

Many people go through life without referring to the owner's manual God gave us. This owner manual, the Bible, can help us have a richer, more fulfilled life in so many ways. It is wise to read the Bible often and follow the guidelines God has laid out for us. So many people are on the outside trying to find a way in, just like Michael when he was trying to unlock the car doors. People may try different keys or methods to get to Heaven, but Jesus told us that He is the only way. We must trust Jesus and ask Him to forgive us for the bad things we have done. After that we should read the Bible and pray to God, if we do we will have a much happier life!