Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle? Jigsaw puzzles come in many sizes—they are made with lots of pretty pictures from which to choose. For little children having little hands, jigsaw puzzles are made with big, chunky pieces of pictures easy to see and figure out. For older children the pieces get more complicated, and the pictures may involve different objects of the same color. Finally, for the more experienced puzzle person, a gorgeous nature photograph might be made into a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. The leaves and plants in the photo may have various shades of green; one part of the picture may have lots of blue water or sky, or perhaps a forest of trees with many different shades of brown bark on the trunks and limbs. This kind of jigsaw puzzle can be difficult to piece together. A person may grab a piece of a certain color and assume it belongs in a certain spot, when actually it is meant to fit somewhere totally different. Early in life we learn that to try to force a piece into a jigsaw puzzle will prevent the picture from turning out right and can sometimes even damage the puzzle pieces. As always in life, cheating never pays.

To get a true understanding of Scripture is like piecing together a beautiful jigsaw puzzle. If we are not patient and careful, we may try to force the wrong piece into the wrong place. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

This “precept-upon-precept” idea is the method of study used by the believers of the early Advent movement. They were God-fearing people such as William Miller. He took the complete concordance of the Bible and studied deeply each instance where a certain word was used in Scripture. When the believers used this method, the correct picture came into place. It was complete and whole—not like half of an unfinished jigsaw puzzle.

Sometimes when people are stubborn, they may try to force the Bible to say something it does not—just like the forced puzzle piece. They know something, but they stop their study to try to make Scripture say what they want to say instead of patiently seeking God’s word for the real answer. This is what the Pharisees did in the time of Christ—and sadly it is also what many people do today.

So the next time you see a jigsaw puzzle, think of how much it is like the way we are to study the Word of God. By faithful study of His Word and meek surrender to His will, your life can be like the beautiful work of art that God wants you to be. And you’ll be much happier in the end! — BHM.