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Men of Integrity, Mar/Apr 2000
| Suffering—Isaiah 42-61 |
Tuesday, April 18
|
Making a Great Knife Blade
Key Bible Verse:
I
want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of
sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death
(Philippians 3:10). Bonus Reading: Isaiah 49:1-6
Buck
knives have been called the best sporting knives in the world. Chuck Buck, CEO
of the Buck Knife Corp., says, "The Christian life is analogous to our
process of making blades. The blade is put in the furnace and has to go through
2,000-degree heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
"Then we plunge it
into a 100-degree-below-zero container for three hours. After that, it's put
in a tempering furnace for one and a half to two hours at a low, steady 800
degrees, and it really seems we've forgotten this little knife. Finally it comes
out, toughened to a 58 Rockwell hardness, ready for anything.
"When a person gets
saved, he thinks, 'Now I'm a Christian and everything is going to be okay."
But all of a sudden here come the temptations, the persecution, and the person
thinks God has forgotten him. I've been tempered through the trials I've faced."
Pain forges strength into
our character and teaches us about the character of God. It re moves our impurities,
hardens our moral fiber, and makes us more useful tools in His hand.
—Stephen
Arterburn in The Power Book
Personal Challenge:
- What has God been using to forge your character?
Thought to Apply: Batter my heart, three-personed
God … / That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend / Your force,
to break, blow, burn and make me new.
|
— JOHN
DONNE (ANGLICAN PASTOR, 17TH CENTURY)
|
Credits: Adapted from—Tuesday: The Power Book
(Nelson, 1996)
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of
Integrity. For reprint information click here.
March/April 2000, April 18, 2000
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