TOOLS IN GOD’S TOOLBOX
TOOLS IN GOD’S TOOLBOX
My grandfather had a wooden toolbox that he and my dad made. I remember as a child getting tools out of it and taking to my grandmother or grandfather. When my grandmother moved, after my grandfather passed away, that toolbox was unfortunately lost.
We all have a “toolbox” to get tools out of to live a Christian life on this earth. It is always there for us. It does not get lost, unless we leave it stuck up on a shelf gathering dust. It is strong and has been there for us through many generations and will still be here for future generations. Of course, you have figured out what the toolbox is that I am referring to: the Bible. Psalm 100:5 & Psalm 102:18 read “For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” & “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” We have that “toolbox” handed down from generation to generation. Do your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, know about the Bible? Do they understand how important that “toolbox” is for their future and it has everything they will ever need in it?
If you go to a hardware store, you can find about any kind of tool that you might need for a project. My son works at a hardware store chain. He knows that different tools are for different jobs. The Bible tells us, in Ephesians 4:11-16, “and He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ-from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Also, in 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12 thru the end of that chapter, the Bible tells us that there are many members in the body, the church, and we all work together for the same goal. It compares the different parts of our body, to the fact that we, as Christians, all need to work together. We are all individuals in the church and have different purposes and works to fulfill.
Just like the tools in my grandfather’s toolbox, there are many different “tools” who make up Christs’ church. There are: elders, deacons, preacher, men in the audio and video booth, people who get the video working for the people listening from home, men who stand at the front doors keeping us safe, teachers of the children and adults, people who get the class room tools ready for the teachers, those who keep the building clean and ready for the next service, people who get the bulletin ready to print and folded, people who order the classroom material and get it printed, people who send encouraging cards, those who make food for the ones in need, those who take the collection to the bank and so many other tools, through His children, that God has given, through His word, to fulfill. There are so many different people, who work for the Lord in His church and in this world. Sometimes, especially through this two-year pandemic, we have not been connected person-to-person, but we still have had tools we have needed to stay connected as Christian brothers and sisters.
There are so many who have not been able to get out and attend services, especially the elderly and those at high risk of catching covid. I love how the verse above says “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” In other words, we as Christian brothers and sisters, are all a part of fulfilling God’s “toolbox,” the Word of God. We are connected in a special way that is so strong, so encouraging. A family who has different abilities to further God’s message. There is a special strong connection to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all headed to and have a goal-a focus, of a future of living in heaven together one day. If you don’t have that in your life-if you don’t feel connected, it is time to wake up and remember what a special bond there is between those different “tools” or different Christians in His church. It is time to get back together, use our different “tools” and serve the Lord.
We are the “tools” that work together in the church, to fulfill all the talents, God gives us. The church is an important part of the “toolbox” of the word. We make up and work for the church, therefore we are fulfilling God’s word.
Tools! Who would have thought that hammer, I was looking for last week, could hold so much significance? Just like all the tools in that toolbox, the many different people who make up the church work together for His glory and fulfillment of the “toolbox,” God’s word. The words or “tools,” in the Bible, guide us to work together for the same goal, heaven. We also need to use those “tools,” to hand down from generation to generation. Are you using your God given “tools,” for the Lord? If not, then you need to dust off your “toolbox” and start using it. We need to give future generations the tools they need to be the “tools” within the church to further God’s promises. Are you using your toolbox to further God’s will? Are you fulfilling your God given purposes, by being a “tool” in Christ’s church? If not, become more active in Christ’s church-study your Bible and see what “tools” you are and then, start furthering the gospel by working within His church and those around you.
God’s “toolbox” is the key to eternal life. I am so thankful we have so many different “tools” who work for the Lord and we all work together for the same goal. Are you using your tools and are working together for the Lord? Don’t let that toolbox be lost for future generations! Thank you, God, for giving us the tools in Your toolbox to work together to spread your good news of salvation!
Till next time!
Keela