Let’s say you get a desk delivered to you in the mail. If you start assembling that desk from the box, you will refer to the manual that comes with it. You will probably carefully read the instructions and make sure the manufacturer included all the parts and pieces before you begin. You will plan how you will finish the task and pay careful attention to the images and directions inside the manual.

You would not start reading the gardening magazine on your coffee table to help you assemble your desk. That wouldn’t make sense. You don’t refer to any authority when you need help, you refer to an authority who is an expert about your need.

We read cookbooks when preparing a meal, home magazines for interior designing tips, and consult professional athletes for fitness tips. Professionals create content with the intention of making your life easier by helping you with a task or question in their field of experience or education.

You refer to authoritative voices when in need of specific guidance.

Our Authorities Aren’t Enough

So, what do you refer to when your entire life needs guidance?

By entire life, we mean your biggest, deepest questions like why am I here, what’s the meaning of life, how do I know what’s right and wrong, and what happens when I die?

Do you refer to self-help books? Blogs of people with similar experiences? Advice from friends and family? Can these resources handle these questions accurately, and authoritatively?

Ultimately, our authorities all seem to originate in other people. But where did these experts get their information? Other people. And where did they get their information? Other people. You can see how the cycle doesn’t seem to end.

We find ourselves asking, who is the final authority on these things?

One Final Authority

There is one book that was written by someone perfect in wisdom. He didn’t need to refer to bloggers or authors when he wrote his content. He didn’t need to do research to make sure he was accurate. He didn’t need to write, edit, proofread, and rewrite over and over. His work has always been infallible.

His content is the Bible, and “he” is God. The Bible addresses all aspects of our lives in principle, and the most crucial life questions, directly. Whatever problem you face, the Bible can comfort, correct, or counsel you.

Will You Consider God’s Authority?

What, would you say, is your ultimate authority on the most foundational questions about life? Your conscience? Science? The universe? Has that been an infallible authority for you? Has it ever failed you? Is it a reliable authority for your entire life?

Many people want to be their own and only authority. This is a dangerous way to live (Jeremiah 17:9). Our guess is if you’re anything like us, you have failed you more than anyone else in your life. You’ve said nastier things to yourself than anyone else in the world. And, you have led yourself to do things you regret. And, you don’t really have all the answers.

God did create us to wield authority. He made us little kings and queens of creation because he made us like himself (Genesis 1:26-27). Though he told all creation to bow to us, he designed us to bow to him. He has not left us without counsel—we have just chosen to reject his authority (Genesis 3; Romans 1:21-25).

But the Bible in our hands or on our phones is a living testimony that there is a God in heaven who has spoken and preserved his Word for you. Your Creator can tell you what you need to know most about life. Life is best when resigned to the design of our good creator.

The question is, will you open his book?