Saddle Gun Worthy

WESTERN WISDOM  "Saddle Gun Worthy" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series. 
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Transcript

SADDLE GUN WORTHY
Stephen Bly
Circa 1996 

I drove down the hill to an antiques, crafts, and gun show, hoping to pick up a saddle gun. I guess I had my mind made up to find a ’92 or ’95 Winchester carbine.  

I did manage to root out a couple of old carbines, only to choke at the price tagged to them. A $24 saddle gun that now sells for 100 times its original value is a bit out of my league. 

I found the reason saddle gun carbines are so expensive is that, even though thousands and thousands were made, most had gotten so used they were just worn out. Nothing left but pieces. There aren’t all that many still in working condition. So I came home without a carbine. 

Problems With Success 

I suppose that’s one of the problems with success. The odd-ball gun that no one liked and was seldom used will last from generation to generation. The good ones all get worn out. 

I wonder if the same thing is true in the spiritual realm? Good disciples seem to get worn out. 

Early Morning Call 

I got an early morning phone call one Sunday. There was a bad automobile wreck on the icy grade a few miles down the highway from town. I had stayed up pretty late the previous evening getting my sermon ready. I was counting on some extra time before Sunday School to finish it up.  

But a baby was killed in the gruesome wreck and a mother was in such a state of shock that she was attempting to commit suicide. I was needed to counsel the emergency crew first on the scene. They were stunned and in tears at the sights around them when I got to them. So I lost valuable hours of sleep and quality sermon preparation time. 

My Son’s Question 

When I got home, my son asked me if that kind of schedule ever wore me out. 

“Yep,” I reported, “but it’s a good kind getting worn out.”  

I never regret being useful. Maybe there are some that are meant to be the saddle guns in the Lord’s kingdom. That could be the thought Paul had in mind when he told Timothy that he wanted him to be “an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). 

Saddle Gun Worthy 

Now it may be that those so used will get worn out at an earlier age than others. But we’re not talking about antique firearms and saddle guns. We’re talking real human lives. Besides, just exactly what are we saving our spiritual strength for anyway?