forged in fire: the test

the last step on forged in fire is testing the blade. the bladesmiths have known about this step the entire time; they have been preparing for it. at the beginning of the competition they are told that their blades will be tested for sharpness, strength and durability. they are told if their blades will be using to chop, slice, stab, or all three. since the bladesmiths know this, they spend the entire time preparing their knife for this moment. what they are trying to avoid the most is a critical failure, or essentially having a knife break in half during the testing. to prevent this, the bladesmiths are very, very careful at every step. any misstep can cause a critical failure in their blade.

sometimes the bladesmiths are told to combine multiple types of metals to create their blade. they take extra care to make sure that each piece of metal combines perfectly with the other, because if they don't, the blade will break. each piece of metal must be cleaned carefully, or the blade could break. when they hammer the metal, it has to be done with a watchful eye, or the blade could break. when they heat-treat the blade, it must be done perfectly, or the blade will break. if they see any kind of fracture in their blade at any step in the process, they work to fix it immediately or it will cause a failure. oftentimes, a bladesmith will find a crack in their blade and completely start over, because they don't want to have any compromise in the integrity of their metal.

the bladesmiths finally get to the point where their blades can be tested. they have moved their metal into a blade shape, they have hardened the blade with their heat-treatment, they have attached a handle, and they have made the edge razor-sharp. first, the judges test the blade for strength and durability- they do this by hacking the blade into something it was never meant to chop- something like metal, ice, concrete or animal antlers. most of the time the blades survive with minimal damage, but sometimes the break in half. it is a sinking moment for the bladesmith, the judges and the viewer.

in this moment, the judge will pick the blade up off of the floor and inspect it. they look carefully at the metal on the inside of the blade, and oftentimes, they can pinpoint what went wrong. every time, it was a small imperfection that caused the blade to fail when it was put under stress. one metal didn't combine quite right with another. a microscopic crack grew and cause the knife to fail. the metal didn't get to the right temperature during the heat treatment. something about the integrity of the blade went wrong, and the blade failed. sometimes that failure can cause harm to the judge and can even leave them bleeding.

a small imperfection led to a big failure. 

we are forged in fire. these are things that we all need to be thinking about as Christians- we need to be careful about imperfections in our character and our own personal integrity. a small compromise can lead to a big failure and can hurt others. like those judges, we need to be searching for imperfections in our character and address them as quickly as possible. we need to remember that just like a bladesmith, there are no shortcuts to character or maturity and that it is important to examine our hearts regularly. when we find something that isn't right, we should address it and not ignore it- the longer we ignore it, the more damage it will cause.

God is the blacksmith and we are the metal. psalm 139 says, "Search me, God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." we are wise when we invite Him to look us over for flaws and ask Him to address them before they hurt us, our loved ones or our future.

God is love.
-rev-rob