Put Them in Circulation
During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men to the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there. After investigating, they reported, “The only silver we can find is in the statues of the saints standing in the corners.”
The radical soldier and statesman of England replied: “Good! We’ll melt down the saints and put them in circulation!”
That brief but direct order states the essence of and the practical goal of authentic Christianity: Not rows of silver saints crammed into the corners of cathedrals, but melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity...On campuses where students carve through the varnish of shallow answers. In the shop where employees test the mettle of everyday Christianity. At home with a house full of kids, where R&R means run and wrestle. In the concrete battlegrounds of sales competition, seasonal conventions, and sexual temptations, where hard-core assaults are made on internal character. On the
Oliver
Cromwell
1599-1658
hospital bed, where reality never takes a nap. In the office, where diligence and honesty are forever on the scaffold. On the team where patience and self-control are held in check.
The cost factor of being a saint occurs on Monday and Tuesday and throughout the week. That’s when we’re “melted down and put in circulation.” “Sunday religion” may seem sufficient, but it isn’t. Pity the person who counts on it alone to get him through.
May 30, 2006