And we desire each one of you to show
the same earnestness to have the full
assurance of hope until the end, so that
you may not be sluggish, but imitators of
those who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:11-12 (NASV)
An old
village blacksmith once said, “There is only one thing
I fear: being thrown onto the scrap heap.
You see, in order to
strengthen a piece
of steel, I must first temper it. I heat it,
hammer
it, and then quickly plunge it into a bucket of cold
water.
Very soon I know whether it will accept the tempering
process
or simply fall to pieces. If, after one or two tests, I
see it
will not allow itself to be tempered, I throw it onto the
scrap
heap, only to later sell it to the junkman for a few cents
per
pound.”
I
thought about the “fires” of the faithful who are listed in Hebrews 11. Noah,
moved with fear, obeyed God. Abraham, lacking knowledge of his destination,
followed God. Sarah, who judged God faithful to His promise, received strength
from God. By faith the patriarchs, of whom we read in the Old Testament,
blessed their children to the care of God. By faith Moses, placed in a basket,
was saved by God. By faith Rahab gave refuge to the Hebrew spies and received
her reward from God…
These and many more faithful became “hall
of famers” because of their willingness to walk through the fire, be hammered
and tempered, and saved from the scrap heap. Their victorious faith changed the
world for millennia—forever. As far as I can tell, they did not wake up one
morning and announce to their world that they would be world changers. They
simply went about their daily lives, duties, relationships and interactions
with others and displayed their faith along the way.
Although both our culture and times differ
from those listed in Hebrews 11, our attitudes and actions should remain like
theirs:
When
faced with fear, obey God
When
our destination is unclear, follow God
When
we are weak, receive strength from God
To
care for our descendants, bless our children in the Name of God
When
others come to us for help, teach them to hide themselves in God
When
we allow God to turn us into tempered metal, we are made usable for Him. Then
we, like Job, will be able to say, “…When He hath tried me, I shall come forth
as gold.” Out of the scrap heap and into the highways of life walking in
victorious faith...
JP2013
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