As preached 1/2/2022 at First Church Of God Homer:
"THE PARABLE OF THE PENCIL"
“Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”
Proverbs 7:2-3 NIV
Pencils are made by two wooden halves carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together.
Most pencil cores are made of graphite powder mixed with a clay binder. Graphite pencils (traditionally known as "lead pencils") produce grey or black marks that are easily erased, but otherwise resistant to moisture, most chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural aging.
A Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
“One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone’s hand.”
“Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.”
“Three: When you make a mistake, go to the Top and fix it!”
On March 30, 1858, the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil was issued! And aren’t we glad!
Pencils work because, when they are put to paper, their graphite mingles with the fiber particles that comprise the paper. And erasers work, in turn, because the polymers that make them up are stickier than the particles of paper—so graphite particles end up getting stuck to the eraser instead.
F our: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.”
“And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”
The Pencil Maker told the Pencil as he put it in the box, “Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
One: You will be able to do many great things,
but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1 NIV
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time,
by going through various problems in life,
but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.
If I change nothing. Nothing changes!
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 NIV
Sometimes God sends us through troubled waters, not to drown us, but to cleanse us!
Three: Mistakes can be corrected!
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
1 John 2:1
Four: The most important part of you will always be
what’s on the inside.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Don’t fill your life with stuff that should be there. Pencils last because of the quality of their innards! You will make a lasting difference because you are filled with good stuff!
And Five: On every surface you walk through,
you must leave your mark.
No matter what the situation,
you must continue to do your duties.
Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
2022 is a book you are writing! It has 12 chapters and 365 pages. Every day you will write a page. Your children and grandchildren are reading what you are writing and will remember it!
