In 1897, the pencil sharpener was patented.

It’s the day of the big math test. You have prepared well for this particular test, right down to making sure you have a nicely sharpened pencil with a good eraser. You work your way through the first two pages and are about to tackle the third when the point of your nicely sharpened pencil snaps off.

No reason to panic. You simply ask permission to get up and use the pencil sharpener. Within seconds, your pencil is sharpened to a fine point, and you are ready to work again.

You can thank the work of John Lee Love of Fall River, Massachusetts. The “Love Sharpener,” dating back to 1897, sounds much like the sharpeners in use today—gadgets where the pencil is inserted into the opening of the sharpener, the handle is turned, and the shavings stay in the sharpener.

The pencil sharpener is handy if all you are trying to sharpen is a pencil. But what if you are trying to sharpen your wisdom, your ability to make good decisions, or your ability to tell right from wrong? Where do you go for that kind of sharpening and shaping? The writer of Hebrews said that you don’t have to look any further than God’s Word, the Bible.

You probably never thought of the Bible as a life-skills sharpener, but that’s exactly what it is. In the book of Hebrews, the author says that the Word of God is full of “living power.” And it is sharper than the sharpest knife. It has the ability to cut through our thoughts, attitudes, and choices and point us to what is right and good. God’s Word has the ability to sharpen us for God’s purposes and to shape our lives.

So next time you read the Bible, think of the pencil sharpener and allow God’s Word to keep you sharp. Get the point?

For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are (Hebrews 4:12).

To Do

Consider how in the last week God’s Word has sharpened your life. Write down (preferably with a sharpened pencil) one or two ways.

Also on this day

Today is National Buy Nothing Day.

1804—Franklin Pierce, the 14^th president of the United States, was born.

1889—The first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.