WHY BOTHER? by Pastor Dave Brown
Excerpt
Doing something with God’s Word is
the key. In order for us to survive the storms of life we have to hear God’s
Word, not just have an intellectual approach to God’s Word. But we have to
see it in action to appreciate it.
The Japanese Shoguns, the old time
samurai warriors, put great emphasis on the quality of the swords that they
carried. To the masters of the art of fighting, it was imperative to have a
sword made out of the finest steel. It would take a blacksmith many years of
forging that steel, day after day of heating and cooling, hammering it again
and again to strengthen that piece of metal. The warriors fear in battle was
not that he himself would falter, but that in the heat of the battle, when
swords would collide, that his sword would be snapped in two! He knew the
impact of two men swinging with their full strength and clashing in the middle
would put a severe strain on even the strongest of steel. If your sword was
weak, inferior to you opponents, and at the moment of impact you are left with
a broken sword, you were then virtually defenseless and vulnerable. Your
sword was your life.
Now I find it interesting to see
some of these swords still in existence today. They sit in museums, locked in
a glass case. You can admire the beauty of them, you can see the razor sharp
edge, you can see the jewels embedded in their handle. They are works of
Art. And as much as we want to admire its beauty, we will never fully
appreciate the full strength of the sword until we use it in conflict. Just
to look it pales in comparison to the feel of it in your hand. To feel the
weight and balance. To swing it through the air. To cut, slice and lunge with
it. To go toe-to-toe, steel-to-steel. Only then can you really appreciate
its full value.
Our faith in Christ can be the same
way. If we just look at, study it, keep it locked in a glass case, we will
never know the full power of it. We have to hold it, use it, share it with
others. It is amazing how we appreciate the scriptures when you use them to
win others to Christ, when we are toe-to-toe with the devil. Then we see that
God’s word can change people, break the forces of darkness. Heal the broken
hearted.
That is why we bother. Because we
will never fully appreciate what we have in our hands, until we use it.