“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
This Christmas was a little different for me for a good reason. With my daughter soon to have our 10th grandchild, it means that the other 9 have been growing right along. This year, my oldest grandson is 10. It was time to have some fun!
Looking through the list of who and possible what’s for each, I remembered back when MY sons were that age. “Double numbers,”my dad called it! A right of passage. So thinking about it, and asking my son if it was OK, I ordered a Swiss Army knife and a whittling book. I couldn’t wait for the gift giving to begin. When he opened it… he lit up like a Christmas tree! Just as I had figured! The fun was about to begin!
While everyone was busy playing with dolls and games, we slipped out to the side of the house and I cut come tree branches. Taking the time to teach him the safe way to handle a knife, we commenced to ‘whittlin’! Now we didn’t MAKE anything. We just skinned the bark off the branches… and talked! Matter of fact, I let him in on a little secret… whittlin’ is REALLY just about killing time… and talkin! But it’s how men are made!
In a way, the Bible is called a knife! And a SHARP one too! I told my grandson all the safety tips, then handed him a band-aid saying, “WHEN you cut yourself, don’t tell your mom. Moms tend to freak out at blood! Just wrap it up and go tell dad. He’ll know what to do.” I don’t know ANYONE who has ever used a knife that didn’t end up getting cut sooner or later. Come to think it it.. I don’t know ANYONE who’s handled God’s Word, with any seriousness at all, who hasn’t had their life cut up and changed because of the experience.
God knows EVERYTHING. And the very cool part about Him being our Father is that He isn’t interested in keeping it to Himself. He WANTS us to know and grow up ‘in Him.’ Cutting away that bad stuff is just part of the deal. WHEN we get cut, He’s right there to show us what He wants us to know.
My grandson and I got together over the weekend and whittled some more. Which brought my curious 7 year old grandson around wanting to join in. After asking permission of his mom, AND his cousin, we wasted more time… just whittlin’ n talkin! I asked the oldest if he had cut himself yet. “Nope,” was his answer. I smiled at both my teaching AND his learning prowess. But not too serious a smile. Cuz just like life and God’s Word… the cut’s comin!
