It’s a Double Edged Sword

Posted on by
3

Welcome back! April has begun and our calendar is looking busy busy busy! Are you in the throes of preparations for Easter yet? Our schedule has a few things booked before then, but our pastor has been doing a few preparation messages for us these last few weeks… which had me musing…

Sunday, we spoke about Jesus’ arrest and Peter cutting off the ear of the soldier. Which had me wondering, did men in Bible days just indiscriminately carry around swords and swipe at each other randomly whenever the notion took them? Was it a simple dagger? A knight-in-shining-armour sword? What does it symbolize? Why didn’t the soldier fight back and chaos erupt in a full-on Narnian war in the Garden? Yes, my mind goes there.

I do love a good sword fight. The chink and clash of ancient battles. The courageous “charge” – full speed ahead into death and bloodshed for the sake of honour and justice and true love. Okay, maybe it is my romantic side and one too many movies speaking… but have you thought about biblical swords before?

Apparently, the word “sword” appears 424 times in the King James Version of the Bible. The context is somewhat varied… many times in the Old Testament the sword was referenced in war, where enemies were “smitten” in battle. It was a great symbol of power and defence. Think about the angels who wielded their firey swords at the gate of the garden of Eden when man was cast out. A deterrent. A symbol of strength and power.

The sword was also a symbol for anything that inflicted pain on another. The tongue or the actions of a promiscuous woman. Danger, danger! Be warned by such things. Or, let’s think about the double-edged sword. Extra sharp for the deep cuts to the bone… often needed when speaking about God’s judgement. How sharply are we cut down by our own faults and sins. God’s word (the sword of truth) is part of the whole armour of God as we go out to fight the spiritual battles before us.

 “It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions”

(Heb 4:12). 

My studies tell me that a “two-edged sword” marks its own meaning. A double-edged sword is tricky, in that it is sharper and does more damage, potentially, but the damage is not only reflected towards your enemy, as one sharp edge is still pointing towards you as you wield it! (FYI, if you say that something is a double-edged sword, you may be referring to an Arabic expression that basically says if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways.)

So. A lot of info out there about ancient swords. And a lot of symbolic meaning behind such weaponry. And Peter’s little dagger? Yeah, a common tool used by the men of his day. The people Jesus spoke to would have understood about swords and their uses. They would have wielded them honourably in defence. Do we do the same with our sword of Truth? Do we use it as a defence against the rhetoric of today’s world? Do we say: “the Bible tells me blank in answer to your question or statement”. Perhaps Google is our go-to instead. Or Alexa before Jesus. I’m afraid I’m not like Peter coming to Jesus’ rescue when He is questioned.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Yes, indeed the sword is a powerful tool. We must learn to use it well in battle, my friends.

Spring Cleaning

Posted on by
2

My goodness! Where has the time gone? This week marks the end of March and the beginning of another spring season! We started a little spring clean-up in our yard this past weekend… and then, in true Canadian fashion, it snowed this morning! My poor little urban garden’s seedlings are feeling the pinch of the dip in temperature, too, as they sit on my windowsill. Still, Time has a way of ticking on, and spring weather will soon arrive. I’m looking forward to it. How about you, my friend? Do you do the traditional “spring clean”?

Do you participate in the big spring clean?

It’s what I’ve been musing about this week… spring cleaning. Not that it is a task I enjoy immensely, but I do love the result of a little elbow grease after a tired winter season. I need more time to really get in all the cracks and crevises of this ol’ house, but, well, every little bit counts, right? We’ve chatted about it before. I’ll leave some previous posts down below if you want to follow up. You can even check out the pictures from our decluttered furnace room… or the fish tank clean-up! Ever wondered where the idea of “spring cleaning” originated?

So, I did some digging. Turns out there are a few “thoughts” about where the idea of a spring clean up came from. In 19th century America, March was considered the best time to dust because the windows to the home could be opened without the fear of flying insects invading your space! The coal furnaces would have stopped running and all the soot leftover could be swept out and the house aired. Nowadays, I suppose, we could open the windows to let all the ammonia smells out from our chemical cleaners! (Anyone else love a good bleach?)

Some sources say the deep clean is associated with a new year. In Japan and Scotland, the “spring clean” is in December. Persian new year, “Nowruz”, is the first day of spring and involves a truly deep clean of the whole house. Many traditions evolved around Lent’s “purging” in time for Easter. This is also true of the Biblical Jewish tradition of house “cleansing” during the time of Passover and the remembrance of the Jewish exodus in haste from Egypt. Jews even clean out the pantry. I wonder if they get to eat all the snacks? I like that kind of clean up!

Whatever way you think about your physical clean-up, whether it be in preparation for a new year, or new season, or just an excuse to get all spick and span, it is important to remember that a clean “outside” cannot compare to a clean inside. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that a carefully cleaned outside that hides a heart of deceit and greed is futile (Matthew 23). And how grateful am I that God promises my sins to be completely cleansed? As clean as the new-fallen snow ! (Isaiah 1:18). Even if it is spring snow in the middle of our yard clean up!

So, if scrubbing the baseboards or dusting, or open window airing out is on your agenda this week, I hope it reminds you that your inside should be just as glowing! May your efforts be blessed!

Here are a few more muses about all things tidy!

Musing about Miniatures

Posted on by
4

What is it about tiny things that fascinate humans? As a good scientist, I am captivated by all the minuscule creatures that can live in a centimetre of earth or water. Bacteria, germs, viruses, even tiny creatures. The microscope appeared somewhere around 1600 and gave scientists a peek into a whole new world. I suppose some of us are not interested in all the creepy crawlies that live just beneath the surface… Still, one must confess that the microscopic world is a fascinating one. Or let’s think about a little bigger. Mini toys. Lego mini-figures are prized possessions; if you happen to have an Iron Man or Captain America from 2012, you might be in for a bank balance boost of up to $1900. Or what about Polly Pockets from the early 1990s? Weren’t they fun? A whole world in a little purse thing-ie! Mini toys have been around for decades. Dollhouses are one thing… but the world of miniature make-believe? Well, that’s a culture all its own. In total, there were an estimated 3.24 billion mini-gamers across the globe in 2021. These people create and “play” with their miniature toys in tournaments all over the world, sometimes for high stake monetary prizes!

Photo Credit: tabletopbellhop.com

Now, I don’t know too much about miniature gaming, but this past weekend we went to a new miniature display in our city, depicting various Canadian cities … all scaled down to one or two rooms. Mini parliament buildings, mini Tim Horton’s shops, mini-farms with mini chickens and horses, tiny gardens and even tiny moving bicycles! It was fascinating. Little mini subways with moving cars letting teenie tiny passengers off to their trains at the teenie tiny Union Station. It was a good few hours pointing and lolly gaggling at all the minute details. Just think about the details. Hours upon hours of planning and designing and cutting and crafting, 3D printing and painting. Teensy weensy yellow polka-dot bikinis on itty bitty sunbathers at the beaches. One must take a moment to marvel at the complexity of it all.

Image from Little Canada

Then, as we ponder the fine details, we become aware of how those little things can become a part of something so much larger. Each tiny thing becomes a part of the bigger picture. And so it is with us, my friends. Our tiny existence here on Earth becomes part of a bigger plan in God’s miniature village. How we interact with others, how our “casual meetings” sow the seeds of His love for all mankind. How many times does the Bible refer to “little things” making a big impact? The widow’s mite in the offering plate (Mark 12) or the power of the tongue, one of our tiniest body parts (James 3)? Or how about it only takes a spark to ignite a whole forest fire (also James 3)?

Yes, my friends, no matter how tiny and insignificant you may feel on any given day, be assured that you are no small potatoes to God’s bigger plan. You have been created in all your finite detail, for a specific job. You are part of the display to be pointed at and discovered hidden away, but adding to the landscape. You may think you are small, but you are mighty! Now go out and live like it!