A Freedom Fighter With A Wrench

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 (NKJV)

 

If there has been one thing I’ve learned in my years as a mechanic is that nothing gets repaired so that it is returned to its original state of being. Now that doesn’t mean when a repair is made that what’s been repaired isn’t returned to its original idea of function it’s just that there is always an after-repair residue. A scratch here, a ding there, maybe a greasy fingerprint or a shiny new part among the fairly used ones is a tell-tale sign that something has been replaced or repaired. Everything starts out in perfect condition and (unless you never use it) in time the wear and tear is gonna need to be answered by someone who know how to turn a wrench (that includes a monkey wrench).

 

As the Book of Judges comes to its close, we see that a phrase that indicates that something has been broken once again, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This tells us that God’s people did not let what was fixed, by God, stay fixed. When you read some of the stories of those who God raised up as judges its no wonder anything got fixed at all (Samson comes to mind) but that doesn’t mean God wasn’t working or that God wasn’t teaching, on the contrary, it shows just how depraved and how morally unethical we’ve been ever since the “do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” mandate was violated. Once that happened, our assignment of being God’s image bearers needed major repairing and mankind has resisted it simply by rejecting Jesus Christ. Sad, but true.

 

Now you may have looked at that and said, “Oh no, Jesus is Lord of my life. It’s those other people that reject Him.” And as true as that may be, if our practice of Christian ethics has a scratch, a ding or shows signs that something was replaced, our display of the agape of Christ may not be received well. I know for myself I seem to write a better Freedom Fighter than I actually live. Just one look at my social media page may cause you to take pause and wonder if there is any Jesus in me at all (though I know I shouldn’t fall back on this, but I am a work in progress). Anyway…

 

Be that as it may, we seem so appalled at the lack of ethics on display in today’s society. Ethical relativism has invaded our culture and has shattered everything to a point where everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Their rejection of Christ’s teachings has left folks with an adjustable wrench (sidenote here: monkey wrenches were made to be adjustable) to try and fix what is wrong in their lives. That idea can lead to a lot of stripped nuts and busted up knuckles. Our job in this mess is to show them the right wrench to use and to be gracious in doing so. Why? Well…

 

“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)

 

…that’s why.

 

There is no doubt that things are falling apart faster then any of us could have expected and it seems many will find solace with whatever passes through their transom. BUT as a Christian, with the right wrench to pass along, you might be able to help folks not bust up their knuckles so much. What wrench am I speaking of…well God’s Word of course? Once people starting seeing what God’s Word actually says about those seemingly unfixable things in their lives, they may find the right wrench for the right job. And who knows, maybe they’ll see that a relationship with Jesus Christ, as the Master Mechanic, makes for a better repair.

 

We can get our social media soap box all we want and complain and complain and complain that this world has no moral compass but the Christian who does nothing to remind folks that we ALL we created in God’s image, well allow me the pleasure of sharing this from the apostle Paul’s conversation with the church in Corinth. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor 13:1) That’s the sound of a wrench, falling on the ground. Amen?

 

 

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.


Think About This: “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” — C.S. Lewis

The Daily Bible Reading: Acts 24 | You can download our 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. –John 10:10-11

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