You all probably will not be shocked to
read this, but I am not a blacksmith. Sorry if
anyone is disappointed. But I have never
before forged a blade, or any other metal tool
for that matter. I do understand just enough
about the process to know that it takes
several elements, however. It takes heat, and
a lot of it—from a fiery forge, in fact. It takes
patience. It takes quite a bit of metal-on-metal
action—heavy hammers crashing into red-hot
metal, over and over again. It takes a skilled
craftsman, someone who knows when to
apply heat, when to apply pressure, and when
to cool things down; someone who knows
how to move raw material from its initial state
into the finished, mature product.
Being a part of the family of God shares
some similarities with a blacksmithing
operation. God has designed the body of
Christ so that we relate to one another in
ways that we sharpen each other. In the Holy
Spirit, God equips us to be what we need to
be for one another. God is making each of us
into skilled craftspeople—people who know
how to relate to one another in godly ways;
who know when to apply heat, when to apply
pressure, and when to cool things down;
people who are willing to do what it takes to
move one another from raw material into a
finished, mature product. People who love
one another enough to ensure that each of us
is always getting closer to the Christ who
saved us—to the victory that Jesus won for
us.
We don’t win alone.
–Ricky
