Iron Sharpens Iron

Proverbs 27: 17 KJV
'Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.'

It is nice to have friends that you can count on in the good times and the bad.  It is even better to have godly friends that you can sharpen yourself on as you help them.  God shows us examples of this throughout the bible.  

Moses had Aaron, David had Jonathan and then his 400 men, even when the disciples of Christ went out they left in twos or in groups, just to name a few.  

There are some examples in history to include Orville and Wilbur Wright, Thomas Edison and Tesla, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.  

Probably even more iconic are the works of fiction that we know and love.  Frodo had Samwise, Ender had Bean, Sherlock had Watson, Tom had Jerry, and on and on...

They disagreed about ideas, which led to arguing and eventually learning from one another.  They were there to help with each others burdens, they shared food and company and ideas.  They were friends, colleagues and in some ways competitors of each other.  They made each other better.  This is one area that God has given us a complete and perfect picture to emulate.  

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.  The Trinity.  Perfect in power, wisdom and are a beautiful representation of how they help each other.  Not jealous of, in contempt with or utter submission of each other, They get the job done.  How much could we do if and when we find the iron that we need in our lives and treat them how Christ treats God or the Holy Ghost.  

Proverbs was probably written by Solomon, Davids' son.  He would have known the story of his dad and Jonathan.  How they loved each other, fought for each other, bounced around ideas of where David could hide and so on.  When Jonathan was killed, David said that he lost someone closer to him than a woman.  (2 Samuel 1:26).  How many friendships are like that today?  Solomon would have even known about David and his 400 men living with, fighting with, learning from and sharpening each other in the cave at Adullam.  How God changed and refined and shaped them into something that could be used for his good.  How when they re-emerged from the cave, they were all giant slayers and labeled Mighty Men.   

One of that hardest things that we face when trying to sharpen and be sharpened is jealousy.  I have been on a job hunt for quite a while and I have a friend that let me know that he got a new job.  Not just a new job, but a better job than he had and only a few weeks after starting looking.  So yes, I became jealous.  Not of his job, but of the apparent lack of effort and the quickness in which he found one.  It took me a few days to figure out that I was not mad at him and now I can talk to him without the pangs of frustration. 

Every man needs someone that he can teach and also learn from.  Sharpening each other.  There is a wonderful resource that is out there that I would love to share with you.  Jeff Voth is a wonderful teacher and full of the wisdom of God.  He is willing to help others and his video posts stoke the fires inside me.  You can check him out here:
https://cavetime.org/

Iron Sharpens Iron!  Find a brother, and strike some sparks.