I usually get a chuckle when I'm doing an interview for a new intern. I always ask the candidates to solve some technical problem. It will be something semi-simple, but often the person can't do it. I don't ask them to torment them, nor do I ask to see if they can actually solve it! Instead, I ask because I want to see how they respond. If they flat out refuse to try, out the door they go. If they try to give me some song and dance, out the door they go. But if they spot the easy, obvious parts of the solution I am happy. The solution will require them to know multiple things that are unrelated but are used together to get the desired result. So while they may not know every step along the way if they can at least see some of them I know I can teach them the rest. Thus, it's not uncommon for the candidate to solve parts of it for me but miss the complete solution.

Invariably, though, I will hear them say "If I had my textbook here I could figure this out" whereupon I produce a battery of textbooks and let them go at it. That's where I start this chuckling business. Because they are not familiar with the textbooks, they do them little or no good. Even if they were familiar with the book, the nature of the problem still does not jump out at them because, as I said, it usually involves several very different things. I remember when I was in college, and the hardest tests of all were those that were "open book," because while the theory is there, the solutions were not! It also makes me chuckle to remember the many teachers who had us memorize things, and when we asked why we needed to they would always say "because in the real world you won't always have a book available."

Well, I have a revelation for them. I am in the "real world" now, and we use books!!! If you hired someone to build a bridge over the river in front of our building, and the person said "I can build that bridge without looking at a single book!" you would not be impressed, and you would certainly find someone else to build that bridge. But suppose your bridge builder had an office, and in that office were lots of engineering books, and in those books were lots of bookmarks. Mind you, he never actually built a bridge, be he has lots of books about it. What if the books were all obsolete books? Now he's got a lot of books, but no experience. Hmmmmmm….

Can Christians be like that? Some learn the bible until they "know all they need to know" and then they close it and impress you with that memory. That is very cool, but what if you find they are so overconfident that they no longer look at the bible to "check" their answers? How serious are they about things that are life and death? And what about a Christian who knows the word well, has all sorts of things underlined and highlighted and marked in their bible, but doesn't actually live a godly life? I have met some of those, who know where to find the answer for anything but just don't apply it to themselves. Would you trust them with matters of life and death? As for obsolete books, I liken this to people who read a lot of commentaries. These are nice; these are helpful, but they are not the pure word. You might know them forward and backwards and even be able to quote them. You still missed it!!!

When I engineer software, I find I do do a lot to the book indirectly, by going to my old source code. The things I worked on right out of college are ugly, written with inexperience, and embarrassing ! But as I look at my work from 5 years ago, then 3 years ago, then 1 year ago, I see better and better code. Neater formatting, cleaner organization. It is good enough that I can use it to start my newer projects. But I still have to go back to the book! The book was written by an expert, who in the case of Java code was not a perfect person but he was much closer to the source, and knows what he is talking about. And my projects are always different, and require different solutions. I know the projects I work on today are still not perfect, even though they always seem better than what I did a year ago. I improve on this by reading the book, and by following it!

Do you really need to be clobbered over the head to get the point? When we were first Christians, we were inexperienced. We had good intentions but did many things wrong. Over time, as we study the book, live our lives, and look back over our OWN experience, we improve. We get better and better. We will never be perfect, and every day of our lives, different problems that need to be solved may come our way, but we live it "by the book." We build bridges, friends, and look ahead. There is one on the other side, waiting for us with open arms. The master bridge builder, who told us how it could be done, the only way it could be done. An open book "test" with the answer right there in plain sight, highlighted! Will you disappoint him?

Matthew 9:10-13 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John 6:43-45 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

John 7:14-16 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

Romans 15:1-7 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.