The Dirty Toolbox

Shortly after I finished my apprenticeship I got an opportunity to go and work in London. While there I went to a building site looking for a job. The boss came out and asked all the relevant questions etc. Asked where I had worked, asked what sort of work I had done, asked for my qualifications and registration card, etc. Then he asked if he could look inside my toolbox.

Puzzled, I opened it up for him to see and he just nodded his head and said, “Start work on Monday”.

Although the incident intrigued me I never paid it much thought at the time since I was only too glad to get a job.

Several years later I was relating this story to a different group of workmates and one older, wiser guy said, “You know that he wasn’t actually looking at the tools in your toolbox?” I looked at him in puzzlement.

“He was actually looking at the dirt and rubbish that was lying in the bottom of your toolbox”.

“What do you mean?” I asked him. “Well”, he said. “Anyone can walk onto a job with a bunch of qualifications and a toolbox full of tools. But the dirt and rubbish in the bottom of the box – you know, the odd screws, the rawlplugs, the connectors, the old screwdrivers and spanners - they told him that you had worked on housing sites, factories, and various lighting jobs. That’s what got you the job”. It dawned on me that perhaps there was some truth on the old guy’s words. I had carried this extra stuff with me as I moved from job to job.

In our Christian walk we come across a lot of people and scenarios each day. As we interact with these people we carry away with us stories and experiences. Sometimes, just sometimes, these events can blend together and become life-lessons. And sometimes, just sometimes, these life-lessons can be shared to help other people in their daily walk with Jesus.

Just before the time of The Passover (we know it as Lent, just before Easter time), Jesus was travelling from the eastern area from the direction of the Dead Sea and he passed through two villages. The first one was called Bethany and the second was called Bethphage. They were less than two miles apart. And it was from there that he collected a donkey “on which no-one had ever ridden before” and proceeded to cross the valley from The Mount of Olives into Jerusalem.

The disciples and crowds were all cheering Jesus along the way when some of the religious leaders, The Pharisees, told Jesus to tell the people to stop cheering and be quiet. To which Jesus replied “If I were to shut these people up then the very stones along the roadside would testify of me.” Luke 19:40 [paraphrased].

We all go through our lives and live them the best we can. We talk to people and build friendships. We lose touch with people and friendships fade. This is all part of our journey in life. But sometimes it is good to reflect on how things have panned out in our lives. We remember a conversation we had with one person, or a journey you shared with another person. And it’s easy to glamourise all the good times and become overly critical of the bad times. But we sometimes forget that Jesus had a hand in all of these. And so we tend to forget some of the reasons that we made these friendships and these journeys in the first place. Everything is about our own journey with Jesus. Our growth in our knowledge of Him, and our relationship with Him.

Just as the very dirt in the bottom of my toolbox was able to testify of my skills, abilities and experiences for that job – So we can look back over some of our life experiences and friendships and see that Jesus was with us all the time.

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