The hammer and the wedge

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called ..."  1 Peter 3:9

A wedge is a tool forged for the purpose of division.  Together with the aiding and abetting hammer, it separates into two that which once was one.

I think of a wedge as the implement of choice in the devil's figurative tool box.  Hell-bent on division and destruction, he seeks out the freshly wounded, those of us who have been hurt, cheated, slandered, betrayed ... severed by a piercing blow of the wedge and hammer in the hands of another.  Finding new victims, Satan then offers to lend his favored tool to us, sometimes as an overt challenge, perhaps in a subtle whisper in the ear of the soul, or by imperceptibly nudging it over so that it quietly appears at our feet.  The hammer is always thrown in for free.

The allure then is to tightly wrap one hand around the wedge and, with the hammer firmly in the grip of the other, strike back with a blow that severs our assailants even further.  If the distance between us is lengthened, great!  If they are wounded in the process, so be it.

Of course, we don't stop at retaliation.  No longer trusting, we take indiscriminate swings that cause other divisions, as well.  Our victims, in turn, stoop down to pick up the wedge and hammer we left behind.  And so it goes "in the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Ephesians 2:2)."  And so it goes with our sin nature.  

But in effect, Peter races to the scene in today's text like a policeman, saying, "Drop the hammer!  Put the wedge down!"  He reminds us who we are: called to be a blessing.  

But how?  If our sin nature is inclined only to sin, how do we refrain from repaying evil with evil, and how do we bless those who hurt us?  These three scriptures speak truth, power, light and life to the situation ... 

"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13)."  Herein lies our directive: to yield every facet of our being as means of righteousness.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20)." Herein lies our power to choose: we have a new nature – Christ in us – that is not enslaved to sin.

"... we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)."  Herein lies our means:  the discipline to live in our new nature and to subject our thoughts and actions to the lordship of Christ in us.

Blessing those who wield the wedge and the hammer:  to this, we were called; to this, we are empowered.

I Must, But I Can't!

“I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise.  I will be careful to lead a blameless life – when will you come to me?”  Psalm 101:1-2

A former mentor of mine used to speak of what he called the “I Must, But I Can’t” scenario.  It occurs when one is expected to accomplish something, but lacks the resources – whether time, ability, personnel, or money – to do so.  Have you been there?  It’s a frustrating place to live, isn’t it?

I think we would readily agree that David’s “I will be careful to lead a blameless life” commitment fits neatly into the “I Must, But I Can’t” category!  David said it, but he couldn’t do it.  Neither could any who came before him, nor any who would come after him ... which includes you and me.

Except one.  Jesus led a blameless life.  Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15).”  He is “the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).”  Faced with “I Must,” Jesus “Could”!  Greater still, faced with “I Must,” Jesus "Did”!

And this Jesus, this blameless one, this perfecter of our faith – he lives in all who believe in him.  As Paul wrote, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Philippians 2:19).”  So this blameless one is blamelessness for us.  This perfecter has become perfection for us.  This Jesus has become life itself in us.  With Christ in us, we are free from the burden of “I Must, But I Can't.”

And here’s the rest of the story.  With Christ living in us, we are also empowered to walk blameless paths ... not of our own strength, certainly, but through our relinquishment.  Listen to Paul: “Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13 RSV).”

There’s nothing in our flesh that wants to yield to God; and there's nothing in “Christ in me” that wants to yield to wickedness.  Ours is to discern the voice of the Spirit and submit ourselves to him.

The burden of blamelessness is gone; Christ is our blamelessness.  The power of blamelessness is ours; it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Yielding to Christ in us, we “Can.”