On the Anvil

Max Lucado’s first book was On the Anvil. In it, he considers us God’s tools and compares us to a blacksmith's tools.  “ In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools. There are tools on the junk pile: outdated, broken, dull, and rusty. There are tools on the anvil: melted down, molten hot, moldable and changeable. There are tools of usefulness: sharpened, primed, defined, and mobile.”

“We are all somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop. We are either on the scrap pile, on the anvil, in the Master’s hands or in the tool chest. Some of us have been in all three.”

Max describes his book as taking a tour of God’s shop. “For you who make the journey who leave the heap and enter the fire, dare to be pounded on God’s anvil, and doggedly seek to discover your own purpose, take courage, for you await the privilege of being called “God’s chosen instruments.”

Max writes that there is no question as to what a tool is for. ”One look at the tool and you instantly know its function. You pick up a hammer and you know it was made to hit nails. As a human emerges from the anvil of God, the same should be true. Being tested by God reminds us that our function and task is to be about His business.”

“In a world of confused identity, in a world of wavering commitments and foggy futures, let us be firm in our role. Society is in dire need of a quorum of people whose task is clear and whose determination is unquenchable.” The book was first published in 1985, 39 years ago. Max’s description of the world in 1985 was accurate for 2024 only I believe the world has moved further away from God.

I will be 74 years old soon. It would be nice to think that there is no more “anvil time” for me, but God still needs every one of us. Where are you in God’s blacksmith shop?

Thanks

Mike   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On the Anvil – Max Lucado – 1985 – Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.