Iron Sharpens Iron
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17
If you are a frequent user of any of the social media, then you probably have several ‘friends’ that you may never have met physically. With many of them, you are separated by distances and time zones, yet with these friends, you are still able to exchange insights, receive and give spiritual guidance.
Yet, it is also very valuable to meet face to face with mature believers for even Iron still needs Iron for sharpening. The place of physically meeting with other believers is crucial. It doesn’t have to be in a formal setting but when believers who are on fire for God meet, passion is reignited, encouragement flows and you are refreshed.
The Bible spoke of “Elisha and Elijah” (1 Kings 19:21), and Paul with Timothy as “a true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2). He even admonished Timothy to set up a chain of mentoring which would multiply spiritual growth (2 Tim. 2:2). Moses exhorted parents to teach their children throughout their day: “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:7).
The Master Teacher, Christ Himself, illustrated this when “He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out” (Mark 3:14).
From these passages and many more where Paul often mentioned his desire to meet with the brethren physically, we see the value of meeting face to face in a variety of settings so that we can sharpen one another spiritually
Along life’s journey, we will always benefit from interacting with other believers. We need each other to get to where God wants us to go.
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honour of his name.” Malachi 3:16