June 21st

Those of you who have looked at the back side of an appliance or some kind of electrical apparatus might have noticed red label signs that say something to the effect of “Warning: Warranty will be void if this seal is broken. No user serviceable parts inside.”
Those little labels serve to keep the uninitiated away from harm, and potentially harming the delicate components inside. In some cases, like clock radios or guitar tuners, both the danger to the user and to the components is pretty low. Still, manufacturers don’t want amateurs mucking about with a perfectly good unit, breaking it, and then filing a warranty claim as if nothing untoward had happened. Things like televisions and the 25,000 or more volts found in a couple of places, can be particularly harmful, and even fatal, to the inexperienced user, so the warning labels are as much for their protection as they are for the fiddly bits that make it work.
Being an experienced and trained technician, I tend to take the labels seriously, knowing full well that I am voiding all warranties and possibly exposing myself to risk, but I still break them when the need arises. Actually, I never void warranties, because I only open things up when they have already expired, but that doesn’t mean the risk of physical harm has abated. Furthermore, I only open what I’m trained on, so things like microwave ovens or gas stoves are strictly off limits.
I am also a skilled and trained technician of a different sort: I am a trained entry level Biblical scholar. My years of schooling and experience in the church have empowered me to delve into the Bible’s truths, insights histories and stories without fear or trepidation. This particularly helpful appliance, however is one that comes with absolutely no warning labels, and virtually no risk to the user when opened even if they are completely inexperienced. In fact, we are all expected and invited to crack it’s cover and dive in as often as possible.
Amazingly, even though there is no seal warning you of voiding the warranty if broken, the Bible is fully guaranteed by God, it’s author. It is guaranteed to guide you through life, if you let it. It is guaranteed to teach you about God, if you let it. Sometimes it’s guaranteed to leave you asking some pretty big questions, if you let it. Always, it’s guaranteed to work on you, in you and through you to move you closer to God, to be filled with the Spirit, and to be more Christ-like. It’s that good, and for the most part, it’s that user-friendly.
Sure, there are times when you might need a little help working through some of the tricky bits. That’s where trained professionals like myself are helpful. But generally speaking, especially when poking through the New Testament, it’s an amazingly helpful, reliable and accessible work that willingly invites you to probe deeply into its teeniest, tiniest components. So go ahead, ask for God’s guidance, crack your Bible open, and give it a go. You won’t be risking anything, but you will guarantee yourself a moment of blessing and a step closer to God. At least that’s the way I see it.