The Perfect Sword

The perfect sword is an absolute work of art.  It needs a high degree of tensile strength in order to take a sharp edge and make an effective strike, but it also needs the flexibility to to hold up in battle and return to form after each blow sustained.  There is no one metal that has all of these properties, so the best blades are composites made of steels.  The samurai's sword is a good example of how these different characteristics can be molded into one blade.  The steel is folded, peened, and tempered to get a very hard blade, but the backside of the sword is kept softer to give the blade its flexibility.  They accomplished this by covering the back of the sword with clay when they doused it in water during the tempering process.  This caused the edge to cool rapidly for hardness while the back cooled slowly and retained flexibility.

This world is a battleground (see Battlefields).  Two sides wage war against each other for the souls of men, and neither God nor the Enemy is willing to give in.  It is important for each believer to know what they are, precious to God but also a weapon to be used in this war, "Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness" (Romans 6:13), and, "Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle" (Psalm 144:1).  "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the tearing down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

The hard edge of the sword is wisdom.  The wise know when and how to act.  They know when to speak and what to say.  They know when to hold their tongue.  The right words in the right situation can bring light and clarity, peace and harmony, "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death" (Proverbs 13:14).  If we are to be light to this world, we must speak with wisdom, and it is not the wisdom of this world we should give, "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:14-18).  If you desire to have a sharp edge, "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor" (Proverbs 15:33).  Do not think of yourself more highly than you should.  Listen and learn from those who have walked before you in the faith because, "The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise" (Proverbs 15:31).  Seek out those who are strong in the Lord and spend time with them, absorbing all you can.  Read and meditate on the Scripture, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).  Proverbs has a lot to say about the attributes of the wise, and you can find wisdom in every chapter, whether the actual word is there or not.  Go sharpen your blade.

The flexible and durable backbone of the blade is faith.  If it is healthy and strong, it will take unbelievable damage and return to true form as if nothing touched it.  It will not shatter when the issues and problems of life try to smash it.  A catastrophe may bend it, but it will never stay bent, "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13).  Abraham was able to believe the promise of God by faith.  He knew who God is and that God is faithful to keep His promises.  This faith was accredited to Abraham as righteousness.  The same is true for us.  Abraham looked back on how God had worked leading him out of Ur and into a new land.  He looked forward to what God was going to do as the Messiah.  We look back on when God bough us with His blood.  We look back on how He has already worked in our lives to bring us out of sins and addictions, saving us from danger, and giving us purpose in this life.  Knowing His faithfulness gives us the ability to look to the future and trust Him when He says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).  When the world tries to break us, we can hold onto this promise.  We may flex, but we will not break.

To be the perfect sword in the service of God, the believer must be wise and strong in faith.  Every one of us knows we are not perfect, and if we are honest with ourselves, we know that we can always be better than we are no matter how far we advance in this life.  So, increase in wisdom and faith by drawing closer to Jesus.  He is the source of both.  Paul said, when talking about striving to attain Jesus above everything else and considering all else garbage in light of Christ, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.  But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.  Only let us hold true to what we have attained" (Philippians 3:12-16).  Follow Paul's example.  Wisdom and faith flow from Christ.  He is the master of the forge upon which you will be crafted into the perfect sword.