Fetching Tow

Fetching Tow: Lucy says I should explain what the term means. To fetch is to convey from one place to another, to go get and bring back. One who fetches is a ‘go-fer.’ Tow may be the material (flax or hemp) for spinning. One can spin ideas as well as fiber. Tow is also tinder for starting a fire. Isaiah 1:31 (KJV) speaks of God’s judgment, "And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them." One may ‘fetch tow’ to start a fire of conviction, judgment, repentance, revival, reformation, conversation or debate. Luther was ‘fetching tow,’ providing tinder for theological discussion, when he nailed his 95 theses (16th century equivalent of a blog) to the Wittenberg castle church door. One may also ‘fetch tow,’as to convey something in a tow bag, a gunnysack. Gunnysacks are not worth much, but their contents may be of value. The Apostle Paul said, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." [2 Cor. 4:7] In earthen vessels or ‘tow bags,’ not everything I’ll share here will be my own. Sometimes, I’ll ‘fetch tow’ and share from greater minds than my own, with the hope of spinning a new fabric or starting a fire in our hearts or conversation.