Christian Articles Archive
The Cutting Edge
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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New discipleship / spiritual
formation 
curriculum for new believers
Our small boys gripped our hands tightly as we watched massive
redwood logs butted into place with a thud, sending a shudder
throughout the sawmill. The high-pitched whine of thousands of
saw teeth biting into timber was deafening.
Upstairs, away from the noise, we examined the immense blades
at close range, 40 feet in circumference, suspended far above
the sharpening room floor. Here machinists worked over the previous
shift's blades, spending 45 minutes to sharpen each saw tooth
by tooth.
The immense band saws ripped steadily for four hours, then were
removed and sharpened before being pitted against the oversize
logs again. The routine continued day and night--four hours of
cutting, then a rest for sharpening. Work then sharpen. Given
this care blades last for years and boards sawn from the timbers
are clean cut every time.
Our lives are much like those giant blades. To cut cleanly
day after day, we need to come aside for regular sharpening, faithfully
submitting to the Master's maintenance. Quiet time with our Lord
may seem unproductive to those seduced by the dizzying compulsion
of the day's demands. Yet we who take a longer view of productivity
recognize this appointment as indispensable in order to keep the
cutting edge.
"And He said, 'Come away by yourselves to a lonely place,
and rest a while'" (Mark 6:31, NASB).**
**Exactly the same wording in RSV also.
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