Unsplittable

by Joel Bates

My son, Caleb, is well-acquainted with collecting and stacking firewood. Until recently, he had not graduated to splitting the logs, but he’s 13! I decided I should teach him the finer points of using a traditional splitting maul. Some folks—smart folks—use a hydraulic wood splitter to section their sawn logs into nice, usable shapes, but not me. I prefer my 8-lb., steel wedge that resembles a sledge hammer with an axe-like blade. I swing it over my head and bring it down forcefully against the cut face of the log causing the wood to explode. I like to think it takes a special person to split firewood this way, a rugged woodsman with brawny resolve, but mostly I’m just a cheapskate. 

Caleb protested, “Dad, why don’t we have a wood splitter? My buddy Tommy’s dad has one.”

“Son,” I said, “there’s an art to splitting wood with a maul. It connects you to the ways of our ancestors, builds character in you, and makes you glad to be a man. Besides, why do I need a fancy, expensive wood splitter when I have you?” 

Caleb frowned at my reasoning, but he picked up the maul, heaved it over his head, and brought it down on the upended log. The weighty axe bounced mutely off the middle of the wood and fell at his feet. “This will take forever!” he groaned. 
“You’ve got the strength, but your technique is all wrong,” I coached. “Here, let me show you how.” He stood back, and I hefted the maul over my head, swung it up in a wide arch, and brought its full force powerfully down, making sure the head made direct contact with the center of the log and keeping the handle perpendicular to the point of contact. A crack formed. Sighting the handle along the newly formed fault-line, I repeated the actions to land the maul directly on the fissure point. Akin to the sound a strike makes in bowling, the log blew apart. 
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“Wow!” Caleb exclaimed. “Let me try.” ​

I gave the maul back to him and observed. After a while, his aim was dead on. As I watched him split log after log, I saw him become proficient in wielding the maul. I noticed how he began to hold the weapon correctly, swing it the right way, and bring it down on the same mark, blow after blow. Watching him, I suddenly felt a spiritual maul hit me upside the head. Our enemy, the devil, is a master of the “splitting maul!”

Satan loves to kill, steal, and destroy. He prowls around like a lion seeking to devour people, and he takes great delight in burrowing the heavy wedge of dissention among God’s children, severing relationships, alienating friends, and pounding fault lines throughout the bride of Christ. He loves splitting us apart like a talented woodsman drubbing hardwood. It makes him happy to see our nation torn in two like an oak log that gives way before the maul. He giggles when a church splits up. He bends over doubled in wicked glee when another couple files for divorce. And he swings that thing at me with great mastery!

I pondered this and wondered, “How can we escape the separation that comes from the blows of the enemy?” Here’s some ideas coming from a guy who’s flung the maul a few times:

• Be a poor target. If a log were constantly on the move, evading my blows, I would never be able to land a hit on the same weakened spot. So, we should simply not grow idle, but keep ourselves active in service to the Lord. Paul cautioned, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-13). “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord”( Romans 12:11).
• Stay protected. A log exposed to the maul is easily split. If I were to try to split a log covered with a metal shield, I might dent the metal, but the wood would likely stay intact. In fact, I would undoubtedly dull my axe blade. The apostle Paul gives us a clear command in Ephesians 6:11 to “put on the whole armor of God so we can take our stand against the enemy.” With this armor, we can defend against the blows that would sever our relationships. The armor is not just for self-preservation, but also for unity.
• Grow thicker skin. Are you easily offended? I know I am. When an offense initiates division, we tend to focus on that fissure and allow it to fester and rot, further weakening the heart-wood. It doesn’t take much to split a log which is already wounded. Develop the habit of fortifying your mind, as stated in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
• Let Christ stay alive in you. I once felled a big, old tree not because it was dead, but because it was leaning too near an important structure. As I began pounding away on the sectioned logs, my maul would literally just bounce off, leaving little more than a slight impression. As stubborn as I am and after scores of direct hits, I had to give up, my strength spent. The log won, and I was forced to ply my maul on a different tree. I want to have an impenetrable faith like that with a resilience in Christ that makes Satan’s blows simply bounce off. Impossible, you say? The reality of that “unsplittable” log was that it was cut from a living, healthy, very large tree.      1 Peter 1:7 encourages us with these words, “that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

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We are cut from a great and glorious tree of life. More accurately, we are grafted into the tree called Christ. If you’re being struck by the enemy, hurting from the wrongs done to you, and feeling the cracks of disunity forming, implement the tactics listed above to see if they can help you be “unsplittable.”