Nail, A Nut
|
Nail, A Nut
|
|
|
Benoni Church Bulletin--08-06-08--A Nail, A Nut and A CoinA Nail, A Nut and A CoinI know what you're thinking, "What does a nail, a coin and a nut have to do with each other?" You're thinking, "I'd give a pretty penny to know what kind of nut is going to try and nail down a subject like that!" Well, to find out you are going to have to stay with me. As I was walking some time ago, I saw a sharp nail lying near the side of the road. "Hmm," I thought, "that nail is in a bad place." First, it is a little rusty so it has been out of commission for a while. It is also out of place--not in a tool box or a carpenter's hand. It still has a sharp point, though, which means it can do some damage where it is. It can puncture some unsuspecting foot or a misdirected motor car tyre. So I redeemed it from the elements, saved it from itself, and returned it to a place of usefulness. I unwittingly gave it a new beginning--a fresh start. Right now it is in my toolbox waiting to be reassigned a proper place of service. The road also is safer now--a small hazard has been removed. Can you see a likeness between a fallen nail and a human life before Christ is called on? Nails featured in the Scriptures, too. Can you recall a Biblical reference or an event involving nails? Jesus showed doubting Thomas the nail prints in His hands to confirm that He had indeed risen from the dead, John 20:25. Nails held our dear Saviour's hands to the tree which we know as Calvary. Jesus also used nails on the same cross when He removed the law of Moses by nailing it to that cross, Colossians 2:14. As I was walking along, I also picked up a shiny nut--not the kind you eat, but the kind that fastens things to each other. The only nuts in scripture are the first kind, Song of Solomon 6:11 (NIV). Of course, there are the psycho's in the Word as well, like King Saul of ancient Israel. Once the spirit of God left him, he was easily recognized as the madman that he was! Reminds me of the statement that "God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts." Bearing that in mind, we need to concentrate on imitating the screw-on nut by holding tightly to God's unchanging hand like a torqued nut on a spring washer! Hang on -- and hang in there! It's not for long anyway. Being a fund-raiser for Southern Africa Bible College, I never pass up a coin on the roadway. I have had pennies, nickels and quarters come my way. Remember the old adage: A penny saved is a penny earned. My latest acquisition was a shiny but scarred penny. It had a little sparkle left but had obviously been abused by life's circumstances. With the petrol price soaring, it probably won't buy more than a drop of the precious propellant, but it looked so lonely near my shoe. In Tanzania, there were 100 cents in a shilling. A shilling was worth fourteen American cents, so one Tanzanian cent was almost worthless. Each coin had a neat hole through the center for people whose garments had no pockets. They could thread a piece of string through the central hole and tie the ends to make a home made coin receptacle. We were quite pleased with those pennies. They were the cheapest copper washers on the market and they were rather attractive, too. Coins featured in Biblical times, too. There was the shekel, the denarius, the drachma and, of course, the widow's mite in Mark 12:42, which sounds much like a Tanzanian penny in value. Jesus taught about a lost coin and the effort put in to find it again, Luke 15:8-10. He showed that some coins carried the image of the king to whom tribute (taxes) should be paid, Luke 20:23-25. When temple taxes needed to be paid, Jesus directed Peter not to a piggy bank but to a fish bank where he found a coin that would discharge their obligations, Matthew 17:24-27. We are like that lost coin with the wrong image on us -- Jesus searches diligently for us and when He finds us, He changes the inappropriate image on us into His likeness, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:29. Now you know what a nail, a nut and a coin have in common! They were each lost. . .and found. . .and used again! There is hope for each of us. Love you all, Al--"the Horne of Africa." |
Copyright © 2001 - 2008
Southern Africa Bible
College - All Rights Reserved
|
