James saw the sword locked behind a glass case. The blade was long and sharp. He tried to imagine how the sword might have been used in battle. Did a soldier hold it high and shout in victory? Did the blade ever clash against other enemy swords? Clink.

James jumped. The museum tour guide had dropped his key. “Excuse me,” the guide said as he picked up the key and opened a case across the room. “Here is a replica of a cannon ball. I’ll help each of you hold it. You’ll see how heavy it is.”

James kept staring at the sword. How heavy would the sword feel in his hand?

“O-oh, it weighs a ton!” he heard a classmate say.

“Don’t you want to hold the cannon ball, James?” his teacher asked.

“No, thank you, Mr. Brown.” He watched his teacher and classmates trail into the next room. With one last look at the sword, he pushed himself away from the glass case and followed the group.

“So what did you like best at the museum?” Mr. Brown asked when they returned to school.

Sarah raised her hand. “The dinosaur bones! I wonder what the earth was like back then.”

“I liked the cannon ball,” Jeremy said. “It was so heavy!”

James raised his hand.

“Yes, James, what did you enjoy at the museum?” Mr. Brown asked.

“The sword.”

James’ teacher raised his eyebrows. “Why did you like the sword?”

Sometimes war is necessary, but he didn’t really like fighting. He put his finger on his chin and thought. Then he said, “The sword was so long and sharp, I wondered what it would be like to hold and swing around.”

Mr. Brown smiled and nodded. “I wondered that too. A soldier with a sword needs to know how to use it. But then I thought of something. We all do hold a sword in battle. Not a flesh and blood battle, but still a real battle. And we better know how to use that sword! You know what sword I’m talking about, right?”

James straightened his back and raised his hand. He knew. “The Bible!”

“Yes, ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,’ ” Mr. Brown quoted. “It’s good for us to think about what that means. It’s another reason we must know our Bibles well.

“Are there any more things you found especially interesting at the museum?”

James heard a few more answers, but kept thinking about swords. He would look up the verses that talked about them.