A New Key

Nearly two weeks ago, in our "quiet" little town of Beulah, ND, the high school received a bomb threat. Praise the Lord no bombs were found, the threat was not executed and the students remained safe. As a safety response/precaution, the school district had the entire school re-keyed. That means new locks on every door, many new keys - and a busy Beulah Lumber (& Lock Service!).

While I don't know enough to re-key a lock, I have been taught the craft of making new keys. Despite the gitters I get before I begin, it's a fairly simple process. The key-making machine has two key holders - one on the left side for the old key being copied, one on the right side for the brand new key - the key that is cut away to produce an identical copy of the old key. Once the keys are securely locked in their places, the switch is flipped, the saw turns on, and the keys are brought up near the saw. One thing I learned early on in the key-making process is to not look at the key you are cutting. Keep your eyes on the first, old key as you push down the length of the key. Let the saw cut its way through the new key, carving it to match the old key. Taking your eye off the old key and looking at new will often cause a mistake. Only when you are completely finished - every groove cleanly cut - can you turn off the machine, remove your new key, and compare it to the first key.

As I was engrossed in making approximately 25 keys last week, I was struck by the thought of how similar we are to those keys. Jesus is that first key - the initial one that we, the new key, are being copied into. For those of us being copied to be like Jesus, it's not always an easy process or a pain-free one. Difficult times come, but as the Word promises us, these difficulties are often for our good.

". . . He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." (Hebrews 12:10-11)

During such times, we don't know what the end result will be. All we know is that we're being cut, and that it hurts. But the Lord will not give us more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and He is with us during our trials (Hebrews 13:5).

No matter what your circumstances are, trust Jesus. Cling to Him. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, He is the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). The Lord has something incredible in mind - He is making you more like His Son, Jesus Christ. What an image to be copied into!