As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV
What is king Solomon saying here? What has the Lord laid on his heart?
If we believe we are in a spiritual battle every single day we walk with our Lord, we must acknowledge that the weapons our Lord provides us need to be maintained. Picture the sword of the spirit as it relates to an actual sword. A sword is pounded by its maker, to strengthen it, as it is being produced. The more of a pounding it takes, the longer it will hold up in battle.
Paul writes:
We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans. 5:3-4 NIV
Isn’t this exactly what life does to us? The occurrences of each day, those battles, make us stronger! Is it enough, however, to keep our own sword sharpened? While the battle rages on around us, our brothers need their sword sharpened too!
Picture running into battle with a brother alongside; he gets knocked back, loses his helmet, his sword, and falls to the ground. Is it enough for us to battle on, or must we pick up our brother, give his weapons back, put his helmet on, and run with him into battle?
I believe our Lord will take care of us, he will strengthen our armor, if we focus on strengthening the armor of those around us.
How do we do this?
Paul writes:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 NIV
If we don’t sharpen our swords, and the swords of our brothers and sisters in Christ, our swords will eventually dull and ultimately break in the face of the enemy. Jesus always sent the disciples out in groups of two. He knows that the battle can prove to be too much, if there isn’t someone there to “pick you up” when the battle wears you down.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV
In an airplane, they always say “If the oxygen masks fall, fix your mask first, then immediately proceed to help any and all others.” As we sharpen our swords, let us not forget how important it is, to our Lord, to sharpen those of our brother.
Barnabas
Special thanks for this submission by guest blogger – Barnabas