Memory / Meditation Proverbs 27.17
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (NIV)
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (NIV)
The biblical account of the life of God at work in the soul of man may be more nuanced than is immediately apparent with a casual reading. Perhaps, you may think it is just you and the Holy Spirit working together to bring about the maturity of your faith (cf. Philippians 1.6). Certainly it is true that the Spirit of God is at work within you, but how that plays out in the warp and woof of your life is written on a larger canvas. As a Christian you are a part of the covenant community of faith. When you responded to God’s call on your life you began your life of faith and became a part of the family of God. Consequently, a dynamic relationship exists between you and those who follow Christ. You may meet brothers and sisters in every corner of the world.
Bill Cord was a man who challenged me about my faith and walk with Christ while I was in training to be a radio intercept analyst during the Vietnam War. He met with me multiple times each week for discipleship. When we received our orders I had hoped we might be going to the same station. In God’s providence he shipped out for Saint Laurance Alaska, and I was sent to Misawa Japan. He assured me I would find believers at my new duty station. I prayed the Lord would open that door for me so I might continue to grow in Christ. The very next week as I was in the chapel to practice the piano I saw an airman praying – he prayed for about thirty minutes or so – when he finished he stood up, turned around, looked at me and asked: “Are you a Christian?” It was a divine appointment – he had just come from Misawa Japan, and he assured me the brothers would be waiting for me when I arrived. True to his word, several brothers were on the tarmac waiting for me when I disembarked.
The ordinary pattern in Scripture is men and women are brought into fellowship with God within the context of fellowship with his people. My friend, Bill, told me early on, if you ever find yourself in a place where there is no apparent partner in the faith, then you can be assured the Lord will use you to introduce someone to Christ. In the Old Testament you may read about this in the promises of God beginning with the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the New Testament you read about the relationship God has with the church. In the Greek the church is the ekklesia or the called-out assembly. The apostle Paul goes to great length to explain what this means relationally; that is, no person is to live outside his or her connection to the rest of the body of Christ. We are to live interdependent lives, each person serving the larger community of faith with whatever gift or gifts they may have.
Within this larger covenant community, God often forges particular friendships that become especially formative. Paul alludes to this in Philippians 3.17: Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us (cf. 1 Corinthians 4.16). The author of Hebrews mentions something similar in 10.24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Whether in the Old or the New Testament we find accounts of one person sharpening another. In 1 Samuel we read about the friendship between Jonathan and David. No doubt it was deepened as they shared their belief in a covenant keeping God as they faced overwhelming odds in battle. David against Goliath and Jonathan against a garrison of Philistine warriors. Both men had an unshakeable faith in a faithful God. It was further deepened as Jonathan sided with David as heir to the throne over himself. At its root they were bound together, because both hearts were united in a common love for God. In the gospels we read that Jesus sent out his disciples two by two (cf. Luke 10.1). So, too, throughout Acts and the epistles of Paul there is a clear pattern of at least two people being sent together on missionary journeys. We need the sharpening that comes from the dynamic of these relationships.
When Peter was behaving hypocritically Paul confronted him about his duplicity (Galatians 2.11). When Paul and Barnabas disagreed about the usefulness of John Mark as a coworker in the gospel they went their separate ways and the ministry was multiplied. Later, Paul had a change of heart and encouraged Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4.11). We all have growing edges and we need those about us who are like minded in their love for God and speak the truth to us in love, recognizing they too have growing edges and are equally eager to please God.
In the end, I think, more often than not, more is caught than taught. Thus, I conclude with Paul’s reminder to his young protégé Timothy: You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me (2 Timothy 3.10-11).
Bill Cord was a man who challenged me about my faith and walk with Christ while I was in training to be a radio intercept analyst during the Vietnam War. He met with me multiple times each week for discipleship. When we received our orders I had hoped we might be going to the same station. In God’s providence he shipped out for Saint Laurance Alaska, and I was sent to Misawa Japan. He assured me I would find believers at my new duty station. I prayed the Lord would open that door for me so I might continue to grow in Christ. The very next week as I was in the chapel to practice the piano I saw an airman praying – he prayed for about thirty minutes or so – when he finished he stood up, turned around, looked at me and asked: “Are you a Christian?” It was a divine appointment – he had just come from Misawa Japan, and he assured me the brothers would be waiting for me when I arrived. True to his word, several brothers were on the tarmac waiting for me when I disembarked.
The ordinary pattern in Scripture is men and women are brought into fellowship with God within the context of fellowship with his people. My friend, Bill, told me early on, if you ever find yourself in a place where there is no apparent partner in the faith, then you can be assured the Lord will use you to introduce someone to Christ. In the Old Testament you may read about this in the promises of God beginning with the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the New Testament you read about the relationship God has with the church. In the Greek the church is the ekklesia or the called-out assembly. The apostle Paul goes to great length to explain what this means relationally; that is, no person is to live outside his or her connection to the rest of the body of Christ. We are to live interdependent lives, each person serving the larger community of faith with whatever gift or gifts they may have.
Within this larger covenant community, God often forges particular friendships that become especially formative. Paul alludes to this in Philippians 3.17: Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us (cf. 1 Corinthians 4.16). The author of Hebrews mentions something similar in 10.24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Whether in the Old or the New Testament we find accounts of one person sharpening another. In 1 Samuel we read about the friendship between Jonathan and David. No doubt it was deepened as they shared their belief in a covenant keeping God as they faced overwhelming odds in battle. David against Goliath and Jonathan against a garrison of Philistine warriors. Both men had an unshakeable faith in a faithful God. It was further deepened as Jonathan sided with David as heir to the throne over himself. At its root they were bound together, because both hearts were united in a common love for God. In the gospels we read that Jesus sent out his disciples two by two (cf. Luke 10.1). So, too, throughout Acts and the epistles of Paul there is a clear pattern of at least two people being sent together on missionary journeys. We need the sharpening that comes from the dynamic of these relationships.
When Peter was behaving hypocritically Paul confronted him about his duplicity (Galatians 2.11). When Paul and Barnabas disagreed about the usefulness of John Mark as a coworker in the gospel they went their separate ways and the ministry was multiplied. Later, Paul had a change of heart and encouraged Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4.11). We all have growing edges and we need those about us who are like minded in their love for God and speak the truth to us in love, recognizing they too have growing edges and are equally eager to please God.
In the end, I think, more often than not, more is caught than taught. Thus, I conclude with Paul’s reminder to his young protégé Timothy: You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me (2 Timothy 3.10-11).
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