As a builder, I have the opportunity to look at a lot of plans for all kinds of various projects. For the most part, I enjoy it - there is such a variety of building styles and types out there with every project being unique in some way or another that I enjoy looking at the plans. And of course, it is an indispensible part of my job. Those plans are my guide for what to build and how to build it, and without them, I generally could not do the project or even give a price for doing the project.
Over the years I have noticed that I have yet to find a perfect set of plans. Inevitably, if I look hard enough, I will find some error or discrepancy or confusion somewhere. And I don’t say that to knock the draftsman or architect or engineer or customer who drew the plans - I find most plans to be very well done in a professional manner. But, they are not perfect, because the person drawing the plans is not perfect. And just like the plans are not perfect, neither is my company’s execution of the plans, so we have yet to build a perfect building.
There are times while reviewing a set of plans that I encounter something that does not make sense to me - something that I don’t understand or some notation that I don’t recognize. Generally, when this happens, I do one of two things:
1. I will search elsewhere on the plans to see if somewhere else explains what I don’t get - maybe there is a detail drawing on another page or another elevation or cross-section that explains it or maybe a legend that explains the notation.
2. If I can’t get my answer from searching the plans, I will generally try to contact the author of the plans to have him or her explain it to me.
I was thinking about this in terms of how to treat Scripture. Somebody came up with the witty acronym Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth for describing what the Bible is. So, what that means is the Bible is essentially a plan - it is a plan showing us who God is, what He requires of us and how we can fulfill His requirements. It is a blueprint for life here on earth.
But sometimes, when reading Scripture, there are things that we may not understand. How are we supposed to handle these situations? Well, I would propose to you that my two methods above to deal with building plans that are not understood would serve quite well in dealing with Scripture that we don’t understand as well.
First, search elsewhere in Scripture to see if somewhere else explains what we are not understanding. It is very common for one passage of Scripture to explains another - especially when reading the New Testament - much of the Old Testament is explained in the New Testament.
And, second, if searching elsewhere still leaves us unsure, let’s go back to the Author to seek for the answer and ask Him to reveal it to us. One of the specific reasons that God gives those of us who are Christians the Holy Spirit is to help us understand Scripture (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).
And remember, though there may not be a perfect set of construction plans out there, God’s plans are perfect because He is the perfect Author.
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