The Talking Tools

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11

“Your friend Mason is really growing in his faith, isn’t he? It’s been fun to see him plug in at church,” Uncle Ken said as Aiden helped him replace the worn-out boards on the porch.

“Yeah,” Aiden said.

“His solo with the junior choir was great,” Uncle Ken said between creaks and squeaks as he pulled nails. Aiden didn’t answer. As they worked, he was very quiet—too quiet. Uncle Ken put down his hammer. “Aiden, is everything okay?”

Aiden sighed. “It’s just that Mason does everything better than I do. I used to sing solos, but now Mason sings most of them. He’s the star student in our class at church too—he brings more visitors and learns more Bible verses than anybody else.”

Uncle Ken nodded. “Get the tape measure out of the toolbox, will you, Aiden? Let’s measure and cut the new boards.” He grinned. “What would you think if the hammer got mad when we started using the tape measure? Or what if the tape measure said, ‘You left me in this box for an hour, so I’m not going to measure anything for you’? Or, ‘If you don’t let me pull nails, I won’t work’?”

Aiden grinned. “They couldn’t do each other’s jobs! They’re tools. They have to do what they’re made to do.”

“Right,” Uncle Ken said. “And Christians are tools in God’s hands—He gives each of us a job to do. It’s not a competition. We serve because we love Jesus and want to share His love with others, not to make ourselves look good.”

Aiden frowned. “But why does Mason have to do everything I do—only better?”

“How many hammers are in my toolbox, Aiden?” asked Uncle Ken.

Aiden checked. “Two,” he said.

Uncle Ken nodded. “And I use both of them. It’s like that with Jesus. He uses us in different ways, but like any tool’s purpose is to serve the carpenter, His purpose for all of us is the same—to work in our hearts so that we’ll grow in our relationship with Him and share His love with others. It’s not about what we do or how well we do it—it’s about trusting Him to use us however He pleases to accomplish His greater purpose.”

–Barbara J. Westberg

How about you? Are you jealous of other Christians? Remember that Jesus uses each of us to do His work and share His love with others in the way He knows is best. We often compare our tasks and abilities to other people’s, but that’s not what God is concerned about—His focus is on our hearts and how to shape them to make us more like Jesus. Trust Him to help you serve Him faithfully as one of the many tools in His toolbox.

Today’s key verse: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Today’s key thought: Christians are God’s tools