Iron Sharpening Iron

We all have “people” and this is what I love about the people God has placed in my life. They simply care for us and love us in a way that makes them want to take action. I am extremely protective of the people I love. I was like that as a child with my little sister. I could pick on her and tease her, but heaven help the boy that tried to break her heart or the mean girl who gave her grief!

Loving people well requires action and meaning behind the words lest they become empty, flat words with no heart behind them and wasted air. I hear this phrase often in writing, “Show, don’t tell.” You paint a picture with your words allowing actions to speak louder than words.

So, I posted my last blog and got personal. I knew that it would evoke some sort of response and that was the point. I received comments, emails, a phone call, and a text. Most of my peeps responded in a protective way and here are some of my favorites:

One was a phone call from a friend who follows my blog… “Hey, um, you might want to clarify that Jonathan is taking steroids for his allergies, because I know this, but others reading might not.”

The other encounter happened Wednesday night. I was cornered in the bathroom by someone who has loved me from the very beginning of our ministry at BVAG. Let me just say...I love church ladies. If we ever move, I’m taking her with me. She finds me terribly funny and laughs at all the right moments appreciating my mad-skills with comedic timing. She prays with me and cries over me when I am hurting. And even though she thought I was just a trophy wife at first…she has gotten to know the real me…and she still loves me.

After giving me a huge hug she said, “Tell me. Who hurt you?”

I knew exactly what she was talking about. The blog.

Me: “I can’t tell you that! But, I promise we are SO over it.”

My favorite Church lady: “Just give me their initials.”

Church ladies don’t play. She wanted names.

Me: “They don’t attend our church.”

Earlier that day I received a text with promise to deliver reinforcement if needed, which made me smile. I love having back-up. I love feeling supported. But, I also truly appreciate a friend who sharpens me. When the wounds were still fresh I confided in someone who gave me a word of caution. She wanted me to remain soft, to not build up protective walls to keep others out, and backed up her thoughts and feelings with the word and her own personal experience.

Proverbs 27: 17 says that, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

The battle calls for sharp weapons, iron sharpening iron, to make the tools more effective and purposeful. Battles play out on the movie screen and there is always a preparation period before a battle. You see the army gathering to ready their equipment. Sparks begin to fly heatedly as the iron grinds against the iron.

The greatest weapon I have is the word hidden deep within my heart. I seek out the things of God. I wonder if God sees me as a warrior in over-sized armor and then places someone in my path to actually lead me, mentor me, and even correct me.
We have a personal, all-access God. He knows our needs for community and the deep desires that we have to belong and be understood. He uses others to pierce through the heart of me and when that happens I am better for it. I am lover not a fighter, but when I must… I want to fight knowing that the battle does not belong to me.

In the words of Elmer Fudd, “I need my spear and magic helmet.” But, I also need that trusted friend who sharpens me and makes me want to be a better person…even if a few sparks fly in the process.