The Sharpener

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. -- Proverbs 27:17 NIV

Does something seem a little funny to you about this verse? Is it just me? I've read it plenty of times and heard it plenty more. Slam dunk, right? We're here to be each other's sharpener.

Except I don't think that's what it is saying. I started to question my thinking on this verse today because of that first part...as iron sharpens iron. I may be wrong of course, but my thinking is that won't work. You wouldn't use any type of iron implement to sharpen another iron implement. As far as I know things that need sharpening are sharpened by putting their edge up against something harder so that the excess edge can be stripped away leaving a smooth, sharp surface...and that something harder is usually stone. We'll come back to this in a moment.

I ended up doing some research because I was curious. What I found is most people are just like me and when they really think about it that verse doesn't really make sense to them either. After some more research and some more thought, I'm of the opinion that what the Bible is really telling us here is that we need to recognize that when we receive truth, accountability, and counsel from our loved ones that it is God working to sharpen us through them. You see, I believe that Jesus is the sharpener. Jesus is the one to cut away our dull edges so that we can do the cutting that He needs done. Jesus is the stone (or The Rock) that does that work in us.

I can't sharpen you and you can't sharpen me. When we've gotten off course and lost our way, it isn't the counsel of man that bring us back to God, it's God who beckons us back. It's the Holy Spirit working through those that God has put in our lives to lead us back where we belong.

I say this today so that you will understand when things go wrong. Don't try to fix it yourself and don't ignore what the people who love you are saying to you...even if they are the very people who contributed to things going badly! Submerse yourself in prayer and remember to be forgiving and kind. Look for God speaking to you through the world around you. You are never as alone as you think you are, and the way for things to get better is to let Jesus sharpen you where you've dulled, because iron can't sharpen iron, but The Rock sure can.