Do Not Let Your Sword Rust (2017)

Do Not Let Your Sword Rust

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust. - Sun Tzu

What is rust exactly? It is defined as “a reddish- or yellowish-brown flaky coating of iron oxide that is formed on iron or steel by oxidation, especially in the presence of moisture.” Words related to ‘rust’ are ‘corrosion, oxidation’. Rust is a commonly used metaphor for slow decay due to neglect, since it gradually converts robust iron and steel metal into a soft crumbling powder.

Why am I speaking to you about rust? Because your sword can rust, if not properly maintained. And by sword, I mean your knowledge and grasp of God’s word.

Paul likens God’s word to a sword in his letters to the Hebrews and the Ephesians. In Hebrews 4:12, he declares: “For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” And in Ephesians 6, when speaking of a figurative set of spiritual ‘armor’, he mentions “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word.” (Eph. 6:17)

Now, I am not in any way saying that God’s word can ‘rust’, that it can at any point fail. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the enduring power of God’s word: “Truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one stroke of a letter to pass away from the Law until all things take place.” (Matt. 5:18) Further backing up this point, the prophet Isaiah stated, rather beautifully, that “the green grass dries up, the blossom withers, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isa. 40:8)

God’s word is powerful, and it will always have a sharp edge that cannot be dulled. But your minds, brothers and sisters, are another matter entirely.

Water and oxygen together cause rust, but saltwater speeds the process along more quickly. Saltwater is highly corrosive. What else has a corrosive influence? The world around us. If, instead of honing your spiritual edge, you let your mind spend time on the things of the world, it can, like saltwater, begin eating away at your sword. The sword of the spirit, the sword of your mind, can be weakened by the world if you let it.

With God’s word you can “pierce even to the dividing of soul and spirit”, you can reach the heart. How well you reach the heart can very well depend on how much time you put into learning about God’s word. Reading and meditating on the scriptures can be likened to learning how to swing, parry, and thrust a sword. If you do not regularly practice your swordplay, if you do not regularly read “in an undertone” (Josh. 1:8), then you run the risk of losing your proficiency with it.

I exhort you, do not let your sword remain sheathed for long. Unsheathe it, wield it, feel the balance and heft of it, and become a master with it. Open your Bible, read it, and linger in thought about what you read, examining the words and extrapolating all the information that you can. In this way your sword will remain sharp and “no weapon formed against you will have any success.” (Isa. 54:17)