Every now and then, something around the home will need repairing. A door will have to be replaced, a chair leg fixed, or even a wall removed or a room remodeled. Most homes have a toolbox somewhere on the premises for occasions such as these. The toolbox usually contains the basic tools needed for repair on the home or for the use on household projects. Similarly, every Christian should also have a spiritual toolbox that has the basic tools needed for Christian growth. These tools are very similar to the ones found in the toolbox in the home.
For example, on many occasions around the home a ruler is necessary to take measurements. A length may need to be figured, a distance measured or dimensions taken. If you are building something from scratch or repairing something already in existence, somewhere along the process you will need to take a measurement. In order to measure properly, you will have to have a standard ruler or tape measure. This ruler cannot be arbitrary or of your own creation. If you have a different measure than what the plans call for, then what you are building will be different than the plans or the existing structure. Too, if you change your measuring unit in the middle of the work, then your work will turn out very badly and might possibly be unusable.
Too many Christians fail to use the correct spiritual measuring unit when they work on their life. Some will use their feelings, some will use their family traditions, some will use opinions of people they respect, or some other faulty, human measure. We must be careful because if we use the wrong measure we will find ourselves being measured by it again (Matt. 7:2). Those who make up their own measuring unit, Paul says, are not wise (II Cor. 10:12). In fact, “divers measures” are nothing short of an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 20:10). What we need to use is the “measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us” (II Cor. 10:13). The only true measure is the word of God, for it is by His word that we shall be measured in the end (II Tim. 3:16,17; Rev. 20:11-15).
But once we have measured the material we are using around the home we may find that it does not fit as it is. It may be too long or too wide. We may have to cut it. For that we need some kind of saw. And so in our own life we may find that after we have measured ourselves with the word of God there are some things that do not fit and need to be spiritually trimmed. We may have to cut them off to fit. If we lie, we have to cut that off (Eph. 4:25). If we become angry to the point of sin, we have to cut that off (Eph. 4:26). If we steal, we will have to cut that off (Eph. 4:28). If our hand or foot offend us, that is, cause us to sin, we have to spiritually cut them off (Matt. 18:8,9). A spiritual saw is a handy thing to have!
Another basic tool that is needed is a level. If you have ever tried to put in a new door frame in an old house, you know well that the old house is not always exactly square! Sometimes you have to shim the door frame and square it so the door will open and shut properly. Or, if you are putting in a concrete drive or sidewalk, you have to keep the forms level or at a particular angle. In a similar fashion, spiritually, we sometimes get out of kilter, we get our priorities wrong. Jesus gently warned Martha about getting her priorities straight because she considered many things more important than doing God’s will (Luke 10:38-42). She was out of level. Jesus said no man putting his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). If we use the spiritual level of God’s word we can get our life back in order.
Another important tool to have around the house is a good wrench. Sometimes things come loose! If there is a leak in a drain or a water line you might have to tighten a nut. When you assemble an appliance, you might need to use a wrench. Sometimes in our own life we have the right parts and they are the right length and are level but they just need to be tightened a little. As time goes by, we sometimes loose our zeal and our intensity. We sometimes loose our faith. When this happens we need to tighten things up. Paul warns us to examine our self to see whether we are in the faith (II Cor. 13:5). He warned the Galatian brethren who were trying to be justified by the law that they had fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4). We can loose our grip! If you find yourself slipping a little, take out a wrench and study to show thyself approved unto God (II Tim. 2:15).
A clamp is another necessary tool. A clamp holds on to things or holds things together. If you have ever worked with wood, you know how indispensable a clamp really is. As Christians, we also need to hold on to certain things or hold things together. For instance, we need to hold fast that which is good (I Thess. 5:21). We should hold on to sound words (II Tim. 1:13), the profession of our faith (Heb. 10:23) and lay hold on to eternal life (I Tim. 6:19). At the same time, as brethren, we should be perfectly joined together in the same mind and same judgement (I Cor. 1:10). As the church we are framed and builded together for a habitation of God (Eph. 2:21).
Finally, a hammer could be the most versatile tool we have. It is naturally used for pounding things, particularly fasteners like nails, but it can also be used to loosen things, or pry things apart, if you have a claw hammer. A hammer can even test for solid surfaces behind the wall. Jeremiah described God’s word like a hammer. He wrote, “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). Sometimes we need to use God’s word like a hammer to break hardened hearts with th truth (Acts 2:37).
You can have a toolbox full of tools, but if you do not know which tool to use, the toolbox and it’s tools are useless. If your tools are not kept up, then they also become useless. Let us fill our toolbox full of useful tools that we may be ready for the task (I Cor. 15:58).
Eric L. Padgett