Read Proverbs 27
This chapter
has counsel old and new, and some that require concentration and
meditation. One of these proverbs should
hit paydirt for every Christian.
Consider verse 17.
so one person sharpens another.
We who have
been saved by the mercy and grace of God have been given considerable liberty
in how we respond to that grace.
Should we go on sinning so that grace
can abound even more?
No.
Should we go
back to strict obedience to the law of Moses?
And forsake the One who fulfilled the law?
We are told
that love fulfills the law.
That sounds like a cop-out, but it is truly a challenge like none other.
Understand
that when Jesus commanded his disciples—today that includes us—to love one another
as
he loved them—he raised the bar.
What was the
command prior to this? Love your
neighbor as much as you love yourself.
That’s a tall order. It’s tough. It’s part of two commands that Jesus said
supported every other directive
and communication from God. The
first part being to love God with everything that we had.
Then Jesus
came and fulfilled the law. He gave us
another command—a new command. We are to love others as much as
Jesus loved us. If we consider what is
asked of us, every jaw should hit the ground.
It is as if he commanded us to charge those machine gun nests armed with
only a .45 caliber pistol. He is
commanding us to do the impossible—to love with everything we have even to death.
That’s a lot
more than loving someone as much as I love myself. That’s more than is humanly possible. That’s the point. We are to live as people who have God living within us.
We are not worried that we will comply with a written rule. We are motivated fully by the desire to
please Holy God, and when we live governed by love we can’t help but satisfy
the law.
Love takes
us far beyond the law. It takes us to
bringing glory to God, to being the light of the world, and to being the salt
of the earth. People should see and
taste the goodness of God when they encounter us.
But the
world stands in opposition. The world tries to confound us at every turn. The world will persecute you for following
Jesus.
We need help
and we have it. We have God’s holy word
that judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart. We have God’s Holy Spirit—the Helper—living within us. We have the body
of Christ to encourage each other and to challenge each other.
It is the
last one that would seem to embody the proverb.
As iron
sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
We who have
professed Jesus as Lord and have given our lives to follow him as Lord are to
help each other. Surely encouragement is helpful, but we also need to be challenged
by one another.
We need to
help each other bring out the best in ourselves. Sometimes it’s a pat on the back. Sometimes it’s an attaboy. Sometimes it’s a helping hand.
Sometimes
it’s a challenge, just as your lifting partner challenges you to get one more
repetition. He is there to spot you if you have nothing left so the weight of
everything doesn’t come crashing down, but he is challenging you to finish that
last rep. He will grab the bar when you
do and put it in its resting place, but for now, he wants you to give this last
repetition everything you have and just a bit more.
As iron
sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
Should we
not help each other be the best disciple that we can be? Should we accept not only encouragement but
counsel as well? Can we accept criticism
that helps us get better? Can we do the
same for our brothers and sisters?
Can we speak the truth in a spirit of love, not to prove ourselves right, but
because we are mature enough to communicate deeply with another believer?
We have been
counseled sufficiently that the fool will not receive our counsel, but our
fellow believers should. We should
receive the corrections of our brothers and sisters in Christ as well.
Few know the
experience of iron sharpening iron as it applies to humans. We are too easily offended. We are too easily distracted. We are still too self-centered. Too often we insist
on our own way. We have to be right.
Sometimes we
are not distinguishable from the fool.
That should motivate us somewhat to seek the counsel of others and covet
the correction of other believers.
We have the
advantage that God will not kick us to the curb. He loves us with an everlasting love.
We can make mistakes, receive correction, and get back in our race of
faith.
Some of our
mistakes call for confession, but God is faithful and just to forgive. God always sets us up to move forward—to grow
in his grace.
The grace
comes from God but we can help each other with the growth.
As iron
sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
Amen.
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