DAD’S OLD SAW!

By Helen Jesze, 2022

‘ “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves…”’. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’

Hebrews 12:6+11 NIV

Every one of us who have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour, has been called to follow him and be his “disciple”. It was not just a one-time decision and then we forgot about it. We entered into a covenant relationship with him; the next step after accepting Salvation was to make him our “Lord”. This brings us into another stage of our spiritual development – learning to become his “disciple”. The words “disciple” and “discipline” belong together. Our Bible verses above show that sometimes God has to discipline us when he is training us, something we don’t enjoy at all, but later, it produces good results.

I read a story by Mabel Marvin, which illustrates this well. Her father was a furniture maker. One day she went with him to buy a new saw, and he was very particular which one he bought. At last he was satisfied, and explained the steel of the chosen one had been tempered just right.This one would outlast all others and help him to make excellent furniture. Mr Marvin used that saw for many years. When old and sick and unable to work, he sold most of his tools, but gave this special saw to his daughter, so it would remain in the family.

Mabel and her husband, Henry, moved several times and the saw always went with them, although it was never used. One night an evangelist came to their church and he played on a musical saw. Her husband was fascinated and asked where he could buy a saw like that, as he would also like to learn to play. However, when Henry tried to buy one, he was very disappointed to find this brand was no longer being sold. Then Mabel had the bright idea of getting out her father’s old saw. It was rusty, pitted and battle-scarred, but she explained that she had been with her father when he bought it and he said it was the best!

Henry decided to clean it up, so every evening he went to work with sandpaper, steel wool, a whetstone and an oilstone. Then he had a pleasant surprise; under all the scars was the brand name — the exact one he had been looking for! The next night he brought home a bottle of alcohol and some rosin. After applying them, he took the violin bow and drew it softly across the old saw. Music as high and vibrant as that of the evangelist’s saw came forth! It had been worth all his hard work!

Sometimes our life is like the old saw. When the Lord saved us he stamped “Christian” on us, seeing in us a tool of the finest steel. Just as steel has to be tempered by extreme heat and tested, so our Lord brings and allows tests and situations along our path to develop and strengthen our character, and mould us to his image. If our life was always a bed of roses, we would become lazy, indifferent, weak, drifting along, thinking we are well able to get on without Jesus. But when the difficulties come and there’s nowhere else to turn, then we learn to cling onto our Saviour. We study his Word to find answers; we learn to pray as never before!

Just as Mr Marvin wanted a saw that would last for many years, so our God builds and prepares us, not just for the time on this Earth, but for Eternity! The old saw was laid aside for a long time, seemingly neglected and not fulfilling its purpose. Some characters in the Bible were like this. Joseph, lied about and put in prison; Moses, tending sheep in the back side of the desert; David, anointed to be King, yet hiding for years from his enemy, Saul. Although painful at the time, it did not harm these men. When God was finished with them, they became men of immense character who fulfilled a mighty purpose in his plan.

Perhaps you have felt left on the shelf, stuck in a corner, not knowing how to find your place. Or perhaps it seems that your talents are being wasted, that no-one recognises your potential and the ministry you could fulfil. Have Life and people left you scarred and rusted, and you feel you are no use to the Lord? These are times when we can become bitter or better, by submitting and letting him work on us with his spiritual sandpaper and ‘tools’. These ‘tools’ may take many forms. We may be unjustly criticised, and it would be so easy to try to defend ourselves and chafe under the treatment we have received, or the promotion we were promised is cancelled, and all our plans are brought to nothing. Just as the oilstone gives the steel the final polish and the saw a truer ring, after the cleaning, God has his ways of doing that too.

So take courage, dear friend today, our Father knows just where we are! Moses was kept in the desert for 40 years because he wasn’t ready in 39 years, to fulfil the task God would be calling him to! Our Bible verse assures us that after the time of testing, good fruit and a rich harvest will be produced in our lives. We shall come forth, step out of our limitations, to shine and sing, making music for the King of kings!