It was late in the evening when my family pulled into the campground. We had been driving all day and were exhausted. From the trunk of the car, we pulled the brand new tent, which we had never set up before that night. In addition to the large nylon tent, stakes and pieces of rope, there fell from the bag more than 20 aluminum poles of varying lengths and connection types.
The poles were not all the same length. Some of the poles had one tapered end, some had two tapered ends, some were not tapered at all. Most of the poles were straight, but some of them bent at about a 60-degree angle. Most had rounded connections but a few had squared connections.
Needless to say, this was “back in the day” before pop-up tents and before tent poles that were all tied together at each connecting point. At the campsite that night, we had our task—assemble the poles in the proper way, so that the tent stands properly and looks like the picture on the box. When done right, there was only one way for all of those poles to fit together. With some time and patience (and flashlights), we finally got the tent erected. After we saw how to do it the first time, it was easier (and more obvious) each subsequent time that we assembled it.
When you pick up and read your Bible, it is similar to the assembling of tent poles on that night long ago, especially when you read about the church in the New Testament. The church has many different elements and characteristics that make it the unique church of the Bible. The responsibility we have is to make sure that the church is “put together” today in the same way that its Designer intended it to be, so that it stands properly and looks like it does in the book.
Like those aluminum poles (some tapered, some squared, some angled), there is only one proper way for the church to be “put together.” Thankfully, we have an “instruction manual” that makes it apparent exactly how each piece is to be placed. There is a “salvation configuration” that must be followed and put together according to design. Additionally, there is a “worship configuration,” there is an “organization configuration” and there is a “doctrine configuration.” Each of these must likewise be followed and put together according to design. When all of these “poles” are assembled in the proper way and working together, the church will stand properly and look like the “picture” in the book.
If we had just followed our own wishes with the tent that night, the end result would have been awful. Likewise, if we follow our own wishes with the configuration of the church today, the end result will be manmade rather than God-made!