My neighbor helped me with a project we’ve been talking about for over a year. We rented a log splitter and split a number of logs from trees that had been cut down on both our properties. I wish I had a “before” picture of the unsplit logs. Below is a picture of the logs after we split them followed by a picture of the stacked logs.

There are some lessons, I think. The most obvious, of course, is: it’s nice to go from a mess to a non-mess. You can see on the left what the objective is, and there’s no doubt what you want the finished product to look like.

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul… (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

But I’m trying for something deeper, and I don’t know if I’ve succeeded. I was thinking about the progression from the unsplit logs to the split logs to the stacked logs. It goes something like this:

• The unsplit logs were stacked but not usable.
• The split logs were usable but not stacked.
• Finally, the logs were usable and stacked.

What else is like that? I’m thinking that to the uninitiated, the seeker or new believer maybe, the scriptures could be like the stack of unsplit logs. Nice to look at but not usable.

One solution is to “split the logs:” divide the scripture up into accessible chunks. Children’s Sunday School is like that. We tell them the stories of Moses and the bulrushes, of Daniel in the lion’s den, of Jesus’ miracles, of Gideon and his 300, of Noah’s ark, Jesus’ resurrection, about Paul and Silas, Peter walking on water, etc. It’s like a scattered pile of split wood. There’s no connection to the larger story of the Bible, not even any historical order.

I believe for optimal discipleship training, the split logs should be stacked for easy accessibility in the right order. For example, I put my older, drier wood on top when I stacked the wood. When Wycliffe translates the Bible for jungle tribes, they start with the Gospel of Mark, the most accessible account of the life and work of Jesus. When we teach discipleship skills, we start with a simple system for time with God and encourage memorizing a few select verses. Appropriately accessible as I’ve written about before.

As I say, it’s a new word picture for me. What do you think?

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. (Isaiah 28.10, NKJV)