Muki
03-17-2004, 12:28 PM
The Scrap Heap
--Author Unknown
You perhaps recall the story of the blacksmith who gave
his heart to Jesus. Though living a more Godly life, still
he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that,
from the time of his conversion, more trouble, affliction
and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed
to be going wrong.
One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped by to talk
to him awhile. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials,
the friend said, "It seems strange to me that so much
affliction should pass over you just at the time when you
have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want
to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here
you are, with God's help and guidance, and yet things seem
to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why
that is."
The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident
that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he
said, "You see here the raw iron which I have to make into
horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and
heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the
heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it
should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water
to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more.
And this I do until it is finished."
"But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up
under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold
water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the
process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe."
He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of
his shop. "When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and
temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be
good for anything."
He went on, "I know that God has been holding me in the fires
of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't
mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so,
in all these hard things my prayer is simply this: Try me in
any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap."
--Author Unknown
You perhaps recall the story of the blacksmith who gave
his heart to Jesus. Though living a more Godly life, still
he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that,
from the time of his conversion, more trouble, affliction
and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed
to be going wrong.
One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped by to talk
to him awhile. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials,
the friend said, "It seems strange to me that so much
affliction should pass over you just at the time when you
have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want
to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here
you are, with God's help and guidance, and yet things seem
to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why
that is."
The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident
that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he
said, "You see here the raw iron which I have to make into
horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and
heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the
heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it
should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water
to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more.
And this I do until it is finished."
"But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up
under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold
water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the
process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe."
He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of
his shop. "When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and
temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be
good for anything."
He went on, "I know that God has been holding me in the fires
of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't
mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so,
in all these hard things my prayer is simply this: Try me in
any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap."