“Dropping Your Wrench” By Doug Fincher

March 13, 2017 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
 
When I enrolled in college in the 50’s, I chose Greek as my foreign language requirement for a B.A. Degree.  And since The New Testament was originally written in Greek, (Greek was the world language in Jesus’ day), theological students commonly studied Greek to better understand the New Testament.

My Greek professor, Dr. C. E. Roark, was a Baptist pastor as well as a Professor at ETBU. At 64 years of age, he’d still begin his class every semester by doing a backflip in front of the class…a feat that amazed all of his fledgling students. After the backflip he began: “Young men, Greek is not an easy language to learn, so make sure you don’t miss any classes.” “Forty percent of you will either flunk out or drop out before the semester is over.”  Then he’d tell this story:

“At a General Motors plant in Michigan, a car came to the end of the assembly line with nothing but a chassis. When asked what happened, the foreman replied, ‘someone must have dropped their wrench.’”  Then eyeing us intensely, Dr. Roark said, “Young men, you will not pass this course if you drop your wrench.”

Fortunately, I didn’t drop mine. I even bested my friend Tony Evans on the final test and finished first in the class. But I have dropped my wrench many times since those days but was always given a chance to pick it up again. When we Christians have “wrench dropping” experiences in our lives, God doesn’t kick us out of the class. Instead he says, “I see that you’ve dropped your wrench….”

“Now let me help you pick it up again.”