I have a rule when using an axe:  never chop a piece of wood on a rock.   My grandson Jack knows this rule.  And now he knows why.   He admitted to me after a recent camping trip that he did something he knew he should not do.   He used grandpa's small axe to chop some kindling wood.  And he did it on a rock. The sharp steel edge on the axe was no match for the stone.   A piece of iron chipped off and left a blunt edge.   A lesson well learned!   Jack now knew that if kept doing this it would be harder and harder to chop wood.   An axe needs to be sharp!

Zack Eswine, at a recent conference at the RTC (Melbourne), referred us to what we read in God's Word: "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed;  but wisdom helps one succeed."  (Ecclesiastes 10:10). And I could not help but think of my grandson.  Before our next camping trip the wise thing will be to sharpen the blade.

The point that Zack Eswine was making at this conference had little to do with camping and chopping wood but everything to do with life and ministry.   We are finite human beings.   We are not like God having all knowledge, all power, and the capacity to be everywhere.    We have limits.   We get tired.  We lose our strength.  We don't have all the answers.  There are demands made in life that  we cannot fulfill.  If the axe is dull, ministry will be difficult. Success in God's mission will require so much effort that leaders and churches are prone to get tired and worn out. They will be even tempted to give up!  It is just too hard. 

So what do you do when your axe is dull? When you're tired, worn out, and on the verge of burn out? In life? In ministry? Well if you are wise you sharpen the blade.  You remember that you are human.  You get rest. You lean on God. You search out insight and wisdom.  This is why in the CRCA we prioritize training!  We desire that churches succeed in our missional calling to reach the lost with the gospel, disciple the found, and multiply leaders.  We know the wisdom of sharpening leaders and churches for ministry.  For this reason that we come alongside churches to give support, undergird with prayer, and provide resources, training, and insight that will strengthen the weak and increase gospel fruitfulness.  We also know the wisdom of churches equipping their members to be disciples of Christ and multiplying leaders.  When the edges of our lives and ministry remain unsharpened, everything is blunted, takes so much more effort, and we get tired of things that much quicker.

So here is the lesson, the lesson little Jack learned:  keep your axe sharpened and things will be a whole lot easier.  In life and in ministry.   Slow down and get some rest.   Lean on God.   Find support.   Get help.   Discover insight and knowledge.   And remember, you are not God.   You are human.   Wisdom will help you find success!