"I Agree" But to What?

Whenever I install computer software, I am often presented with an end user licensing agreement (EULA) that requires my agreement and acceptance of the terms and conditions of use to continue. If I disagree, the installation is aborted. To make things easier, the software manufacturers provide the two selectable options at the end the agreement. In other words, I don't have to read it to accept it and if truth be known, I take that option though I probably should read what I am accepting and agreeing to!

I was reminded of that as I stumbled upon a statement on the internet to the effect, "To most Christians the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll to the bottom and click 'I agree.'" Once I got past my initial chuckle, it occurred to me that the author was right! For while some Christians profess to believe the Bible is the Word of God, far too many are ignorant of His claims and promises. Because we have not read "the agreement," we do not know what has been promised to us and what we can draw upon. We do not know the parts that are our responsibility and the parts that are His. We need look no further than how we respond to life's challenges. When we are confronted with these challenges, our initial response is to do the things God says we shouldn't do. We worry, we fret, we complain, we take matters into our own hands and try to be God; all because we don't know what is in the Book.

To be ignorant of God, who He is and what He is able to do, is to be in a bad place. It has devastating consequences. Through the prophet Hosea He declares, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6a), or as one translation puts it, "Destruction has overtaken my people because they have no knowledge." Similarly, Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, warned the southern kingdom of Judah of a coming time of punitive devastation: “My people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13). This lack of knowledge was with respect to God and who He is (Hosea 4:1), and God punished that ignorance.

For us today, Christianity is a religion of instruction and knowledge is a prerequisite to identifying with the faith of the gospel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus declared that favor with God must involve instruction, reception, comprehension, and commitment (John 6:45). How can we receive, comprehend, and commit to the instructions if we haven't read them? Speaking of which, have you read "the agreement" or did you simply go to the end and clicked "I agree"? I submit that to read it is to find a treasure trove of instructions that will make navigating our time here on earth more manageable. Give it a genuine try and see how it transforms your life.