For some time now, Alex and I have been working on his car –a 1971 mustang that has some rust issues and needs to have some sheet-metal replaced. This task requires that we drill through the sheet-metal. I noticed after about 10 to 15 holes the drill bit would become dull, requiring more and more effort to get the drill bit to cut. So I purchased a drill bit sharpening tool. A short period of time later the drill was cutting like new; for about 15 holes. So, back to the sharpener and again the drill bit was cutting fast.
It actually saves time to stop and sharpen the drill bit. I have tried to cut metal with a dull drill bit: Not an efficient process. A dull bit will get real hot and finally stop cutting. It will get hot enough to burn your fingers, but the sharp bit does not get hot. It bites into the metal and produces shiny shavings of metal.
There is discipline in stopping the work and sharpening the drill bit. The same is true of my spiritual walk. I often think that if I could just finish cranking out my sermon, or my Bible study lesson, or what ever else I am working on, I could rest. Then I concentrate on the work but forget to sharpen the tools. Many of us learned this lesson in the business world through Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. That lesson is true enough. Many of the classes I participated in while working in the business world often gave me a me new perspective and increased my effectiveness. Yet there is something different about ministry when compared to regular work. Being a Disciple is holistic in nature in that doing and being cannot be separated. I am not only a tool in God’s work of sharing the Word in a fresh way, I am also a tool that requires sharpening. While constantly sharpening tools, I myself am becoming a sharper tool.
Yet, I somehow lose the perspective that my work requires a sharpened tool. It is my encounter with the living God that sharpens me. The directions on sharpen drill bits say that as you sharpen the bit you should hear a ZZZZZ noise of the bit being ground against the grinding wheel. (No noise no sharpening.) I think if the drill bit had feeling it would not be a pleasant experience. But grinding is required if the bit is going to be renewed and returned to service.
The spiritual truth is there is always work being done on us. We are only effective as we are renewed by our constant connection with Jesus. There must be time set aside to be with God, through prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and other means of grace. In John 15 Jesus speaks in a grand metaphor of a grapevine.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
The time that we spend in contact with God may often have the sound of metal being shaved off (ZZZZZZ), or it may be the sound of clippers making a firm cut (snip), but in either case it is a work in us that makes us fit for work in the world.
