The parable of the three bicycles

This is the parable of the three bicycles as found somehere in Matthew, maybe Mark.


Three families go to Wallymart (the names have been changed to protect the innocent) and each buys a different make and model of bike.

Included on the packaging are the dreaded words that Fathers hate to hear most, "Some Assembly Required". No problem these Dads have built many bikes before.

The first family opens the box and pulls out the instructions, open them up and they are in some written word. What language is this anyways? Did engineers make these instructions? The dad reads them, follows them, and finishes the bike. Well, it resembles a bike, but the bike is not assembled totally to specs.

The second family opens the box and the instructions are all pictures. Woo Hoo, right? Wrong, a picture is worth a thousand words, but it needs to be the right picture. This bike, too, when finished, resembles a bike, but still is not assembled to specs.

The third dad opens the box and throws away the instructions, after all, he has built tons of bikes, he doesnt need a stupid manual to tell him how to do it. When this Dad gets finished, the bike is no where near resembling a bike, pieces are lost, parts are broken and the Dad wonders where he went wrong.

The moral of the story is that even though some manuals are not the greatest, we can get close to the intended product by following them. When we think we can do something all by ourselves without consulting the manual, all we get is junk.