Illustration for Bible Knowledge (The Apostles’ Doctrine/Teaching) - Think of the Scriptures as an absolutely accurate map. A map tells you how to get to a certain destination. But just looking at a map won't automatically transport you to Arizona or England or Peru. Getting to those places means you have to make the effort...pay the cost...take the time for travel...stay at it until you arrive. In a word, persevere. So it is in the Christian life. God's map is reliable and available. It is also clear and direct. But there is no hocus-pocus in its pages that automatically sends its reader by way of a magic carpet.
Perseverance, Condensed from Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back by Charles Swindoll, 1980