Iron Man

Contributor: Dr. Les Hardin

Professor of New Testament

Florida Christian College



James Lowe has a lot of irons in the fire.  And I don’t mean that metaphorically. 

James Lowe collects irons—the kind you press your clothes with.  James, a long-time friend of my grandparents, recently gave me a tour of his home. 

James Lowe has every kind of iron that’s ever been made:  old-fashioned irons that were heated in a coal stove, irons you put coal inside of, steam irons, electric irons, wooden irons, glass irons, German irons, French irons, British irons, American irons, big irons, miniature irons, travel irons, toy irons, iron salt-and-pepper shakers, iron-shaped dishes … and that’s just what I can remember!  Over the years he’s collected more than a thousand different irons, and they’re all displayed in his home.  One of them won a blue ribbon in an iron show in Sarasota.  (A blue ribbon for a black iron.  Iron-ic, huh?)

I guess you could say he’s a true iron man! 

As I toured his home I was impressed by the single-minded devotion that James Lowe has for all-things iron-related.  He loves irons!  And he’s devoted himself to exploring the love of irons in every conceivable manner—in every kind of iron ever made, in every age of history, in every material they’re made from, in every size, shape, and denomination.

This single-minded devotion is exactly what Jesus desires from us.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength” (Deut. 6:4; Mk. 12:30). 

I used to farm with James.  He and my grandfather chopped a lot of corn together in central Kentucky.  I know James Lowe to be more than a lover of irons.  He’s also a devoted disciple of Jesus.

Can you imagine what your life might look like if you devoted yourself to the way of Jesus with this same kind of single-minded devotion?  To explore him in every area of life, every thought, every action, every spoken word, every destination, every purchase, and every relationship?

It won’t happen overnight.  It takes time and discipline.  James Lowe didn’t purchase a thousand-piece iron collection at the Iron Depot.  He collected them piece by piece, over several decades.  And he had to work for them, traveling long distances, making innumerable phone calls, visiting antique stores, attending endless antique shows.  He didn’t just come by this collection.  He worked for it.  He pursued it.  And now he’s got an impressive result!

“Give me one pure and holy passion,

Give me one magnificent obsession,

Give me one glorious ambition for my life:

To know and follow hard after You.”

--Mark Altrogge, 1988