The Friction You Need

Sharpening is not a gentle process. When iron meets iron there is friction, and there are sparks, and a little of each blade is worn away in the making of an edge. The proverb says that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. It assumes contact, real weight pressed against real weight, and it assumes that being sharpened will sometimes feel like being ground down.

A brother who only ever agrees with you cannot do this work. You need at least one man who is willing to press, to ask the second question after you gave the easy answer, to notice when your check-in has gone quiet and to say so. That kind of friend can be uncomfortable to keep around, especially on the mornings after a fall when you would rather be left alone. But dullness is what the enemy wants for you, a life where no one is close enough to catch the drift.

Ask God today for one man like this, and ask him to make you that man for someone else. The edge you both need is made in the contact, and it is worth the sparks.