When I was a little guy (not yet in first grade) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania there was a white haired man with a wheelbarrow kind of cart holding a large grinding wheel. A few times a year he would come down the street calling out his services. Women would come out to the curb with handfuls of knives. I loved watching the showers of sparks as he honed fine edges. Once I even followed him a few blocks just for the show. The only thing better was sparklers. It was great fun to run across the lawn with one in each hand as dusk drew near.
In Ephesians 6 Paul calls the Word of God the sword of the Spirit. Most of us learned early in life that a dull knife is a dangerous knife. The sharper – the safer. When we lose the freshness of our familiarity with the Word we become dull. We don’t think as sharply about life’s trials and challenges. This spills over into our secular as well as our spiritual walk. The sharper we are the better we cope with our relationships and careers, because we will be making better decisions.
Not only is the Bible our guide to salvation it is also a treasure of the finest wisdom of mankind. It is timeless information just as appropriate now as it was two thousand years ago. Gillette Safety Razor had the following slogan for fifty years. “Look sharp, Feel sharp, Be sharp.” It’s time for us to make showers of sparks. No dull Christians allowed. We will know the Word and always be ready to cut through the false ideas and heresies that come our way. God is looking for a multitude of honed followers.
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 18, 2013
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