"According to what I heard, if you pound a nail into the ground facing the north, the nail will turn into a magnet."
"Really? That sure doesn't sound right. Are you sure?"
"Yup. Now which way is north around here?"
#67- How Attractive!
A Character story about graciousness.
"Where are you going, Jas?" Julie asked as her brother headed out the door.
"I'm doing an experiment. Want to come along?"
"Yeah, I guess. What kind of experiment is it?"
"I've been wanting a good magnet, and I heard of a simply way to make one. Follow me. If it works, maybe I can make you one too." The two went into the front yard where Jason took a large nail from his pocket and knelt on the grass. "According to what I heard, if you pound a nail into the ground facing the north, the nail will turn into a magnet."
"Really? That sure doesn't sound right. Are you sure?"
"Yup. Now which way is north around here?"
Julie pointed toward the house. "I'm pretty sure it's that direction."
"O.K. Here goes." Jason struck the nail twice but it quickly buried into the soft soil. He dug it out and hit it a few more times. "There. That should be enough. Now let's take it in the house to see if it can pick up some paper clips." Julie got some tacks and paper clips from the kitchen drawer and laid them on the table while Jason washed off his dirty nail. But when he waved it over the pieces of metal, nothing happened.
"I told you so," Julie chided. "I didn't think that would make a magnet."
"Well I know that's what I heard. Maybe you didn't point north after all."
"I'm pretty sure it is. Maybe you washed it off too hard. Wait. I think I hear the car. Maybe Daddy has an answer."
The twins headed out the back door to meet their dad in the driveway.
After explaining what they had done, Jason finished, "Sis doesn't think it will make a magnet, but I say it will. Which one of us is right?"
Mr. Jensen looked at the nail, and then at each of their expectant faces. "In a way you're both right, but maybe Jason is a little more right. That will make a magnet, but it will be so weak that you might not even notice."
"But how, Daddy?" Julie queried. "How could just hitting a nail make it into a magnet?"
"Well, let's go into the house where I can draw a picture to explain it." When they were seated at the table, Mr. Jensen took a piece of paper, drew a rectangle, and then filled it with arrows pointing in every direction. "Metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel contain microscopic regions called domains. Perhaps these are tiny magnets within the metal. When these domains are pointing in every direction, they cancel each other out and the metal has no attractive power. However, when they are pointing in the same direction, then they make that piece of metal magnetic. That's true of metal and, by the way, it's also true of people. When we have a goal in life of loving others and helping them the best we can, we too will be attractive people. The greatest example of this is the Lord Jesus."
"So how could you get those domain things lined up just by hitting the nail with a hammer?" asked Julie.
"By striking the nail with a hammer, you jar the domains slightly. When they are pointed north and south, the magnetic field of the earth will cause a few of them to line up, making it magnetic. However, this is certainly not the best way to make a magnet. A better way would be to stroke the nail with one pole of a strong magnet."
"But where would I get one?" Jason wondered. "If I had a magnet, I wouldn't need to make one."
"There's an old broken speaker on the shelf in the basement, Son. It should have a good magnet in it."
"Really? I'll be right back." Jason quickly returned with the speaker. "Hey, you're right. The nail sticks to the back of it."
"Sure. You can take the magnet out later. For now, just rub the nail along the edge of that magnet a few times. O.K., now try to pick up these paper clips."
"Hey, it works, at least, better than hitting it did."
"Well," Mr. Jensen warned, "don't get your hopes up. It's only a temporary magnet. Soon the domains which you lined up will loose their direction and the nail will lose its attractiveness. I mentioned earlier that the most attractive person ever was the Lord Jesus. So what do you think this teaches us about being attractive people like Him?"
"I get what you're driving at," Julie responded. "The more time we spend thinking about Him and in fellowship with the Lord, the more like Him we'll become."
"Good for you, Sissy. You got it."
"But how do I make a permanent magnet?" Jason asked. "I don't want something that fades out right away."
"Well, the best way for you to make a magnet is to get a piece of wire, wrap the wire around the nail, and then hook up the end of the magnet to a strong direct current of electricity. The electromagnetic field of the wrap of wire will line up the domains for a longer period of time."
"You mean like a battery or something?" Julie wondered.
"A battery would work, but it probably would not be very strong. It would be better to hook it to a transformer, like the one you had for your train set. Get it and we'll help you get started." While Jason got the transformer, Mr. Jensen got a spool of small electrical wire. He then wrapped the wire around the nail, starting at the point, and ending at the head. When they hooked the ends to the transformer and turned up the power, the nail picked up all the paper clips and tacks.
"Hey, that's neat," Jason grinned. "That's even stronger than the one in the speaker."
"For now, yes, but it's not as permanent. You will need to leave the current on for some time to make it last as long. By the way, we were talking a minute ago about attractive people? The best way for you to become more like the Lord Jesus is to be controlled by His power. This comes by obedience to His Word."
"Boy, Daddy, you find a lesson in everything," Julie teased. "But I know what you mean. The way some of the kids act at school, I know how hard, and how important it is to be an example of a Christian around them."
"Yeah," Jason added with a twinkle in his eye, "maybe if we try to obey the Lord, He can make us attractive people without having to knock us over the head!"
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PUZZLE: cross off two letters, and then put the third on the line. Then divide it into words to make a sentence dealing with the story this week.
Q W A O I T L K T L K R J H A Y H C U Y T O L I M N V O L E H G P O I E U I O L P P K L L I U E S W D J H R N H A T R W U I O J H T G H H Y T E U Y R Y T S M N T U I O L K T J U H Y T E H J L U I O Y T R E S D.