So proverbs 27:17 has always been one of my favorite verses. But in the last month or so I’ve realized that I have had the analogy all wrong. I’ve always pictured in my head with two swords clashing against each other and the two swords sharpen each other as a result. The explanation being of course is that as Christian men and women we challenge and grow with each other and so as I sharpen you, you do the same with me.
The one problem with that picture is that it isn’t at all right. Two swords clashing against each other won’t sharpen at all, they’ll chip each other and dull each other but they certainly won’t sharpen each other. Swords aren’t sharpened when one hits the other their sharpened when they are put into the fire. The craftsman waits until the fire is so hot and leaves the sword in for so long that it glows orange from the heat. It’s in that moment that it is ready to be sharpened, and the craftsman takes it out very precisely uses an iron hammer to sharpen each dull edge. So what’s the analogy then?
God is our master craftsman, he puts us thru trials and hardships, he prepares us to be molded. And when we have become hot and orange he pulls us out at precisely the right time. He gives us little enough that we can bear it and enough that we must be dependant upon him.
And in the midst of those trials and hardships he pulls us out to mold us. He finds our dull edges and using a hammer perhaps our friends, or perhaps other people around us. In the end isn’t us that sharpen each other though G-d may use us as a tool to do so but it’s G-d who sharpens us. We still challenge each other of course but in the end it’s really G-d who is using us on other people to make the change happen.
So here is the question. Are you allowing G-d to mold you? Are you lying still and in peace in the midst of the fire knowing He is going to mold you through it? Are you running from the hammers of your friends or are you lying peacefully and vulnerably knowing G-d is using them to change you?
