The Sword & The Towel

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him...

When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.’”

—John 13:3-14, selected verses

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It may surprise you to learn there is a strong case to be made for Charles Spurgeon having been the most prolific writer in the history of the English language. That is, among all those who have ever written in English, Spurgeon may have penned and published the most words—ever.

It was said that throughout his fifty-seven years, Spurgeon penned three lifetimes worth of material, be it drawn from his weekly sermons, lectures, letters, editorials, or roughly 150 books. As I write this, my collection of Spurgeon’s sermons stare back at me (largely unread, I must admit) from my bookshelf—a mere ten volumes amongst the sixty-three published during his lifetime.

In 1865, Spurgeon began his long-running magazine, The Sword and the Trowel, which he continued to write for and edit until his death in 1892 (might I add that the magazine is still running, though I cannot speak for its quality without Spurgeon at the helm). The Sword and the Trowel was to be an extension of Spurgeon’s preaching ministry wherein, in addition to his many other exploits, Christ would continue to be proclaimed. In his own words, “We would ply the Trowel with untiring hand for the building up of Jerusalem’s dilapidated walls, and wield the Sword with vigour and valour against the enemies of the Truth.”

When asked by David Livingstone, a missionary to Africa, how he could possibly accomplish so much, Spurgeon replied with his characteristic wit by saying, “You forget, Mr. Livingstone, there are two of us working.”

Spurgeon, in imitation of and strengthened by his Lord and Teacher, poured himself out for the good of those God had entrusted to him. In my own work, I hope to accomplish for the Lord a tenth of a tenth that Spurgeon did in his own lifetime—indeed, that will be labor enough!

It has long since been my custom to commit each piece I write to the Lord well before I’ve written a single iota. Indeed, “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). May every word here abound for the Lord’s glory and for the eternal good of those who would read it; that is my chief prayer each time I sit down to write, and doubtless it was Spurgeon’s well before. Bombard the hearer with scripture, and the Lord will do the rest.

There was a time when I quite seriously considered calling this blog, as the title of this post might suggest, The Sword & The Towel. Not trowel, mind you, but towel. Drawing from Christ’s example in John 13 as He washed the disciples’ feet, it has consistently been my desire to pair humble service with the truth of God’s word in every piece I write. I want my words to be true and efficacious for Christ’s glory and your good not just a year from now, but a generation from now, a hundred years from now—an eternity from now.

As a writer in submission to Christ, I feel it is my duty to ward off darkness and falsehood with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) while employing these words, as a towel about me, in ministering to the needs and cares of those who may read this blog. In all of this, my ultimate aim is that the fame, beauty, and love of Christ would increase, and that I would decrease (John 3:30), ever trusting that His word, the scriptures, will by no means return to Him void without first having accomplished His eternal purpose (Isaiah 55:11).

When He returned to table after having washed the feet of the disciples’, Jesus commanded us “to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). In your walk with the Lord, how can you couple truth with love—the sword with the towel—in your service to the Lord and others? Whether you are a fellow writer, or perhaps a teacher, farmer, doctor, pastor, parent, student, janitor, or anything else in between, the Lord has use for you.

The Lord by His Spirit has equipped the church with a myriad of spiritual gifts in the expectation that we use these gifts to glorify Him and build one another up. As brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we accomplish this by first dutifully and prayerfully determining what those gifts may be. Then, by donning the mind of Christ as revealed in the word and by walking in step with His Spirit, we will soon find ourselves operating as the hands and feet of Christ Himself during our sojourn here.

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep your from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

Meditate on how His Spirit has gifted you, seek His will in prayer and in the word, and ask Him how you might wield both the sword and the towel in His kingdom today. This is a joyful pursuit, for His glory and your best interest are never at cross purposes. Do not be surprised if the Lord should answer bountifully, for remember, “There are two of you working.”

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

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Photo by Daria Kraplak, Unsplash