Sharpening Iron

It doesn't seem possible that I went through basic training in the Air Force over 40 years ago.  Many of the memories have dimmed but one thing is crystal clear: Everything we were called on to do was against the grain.  We were pushed to extremes to not simply test our limits but to stretch our limits, sharpening and honing our skills, increasing our abilities.  Our training instructor was not there to "grease the skids" but to add resistance to our forward motion.

This may seem counter intuitive at first, putting resistance in the way of progress but it is based on tried and true principles of growth and development.  We find this principle in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Prov 27:17).  For iron to sharpen iron, both pieces cannot be moved in the same direction.  The sharpening requires that each piece goes against the other, causing resistance and friction that allows a stripping away and honing of the edge, leaving it sharp and ready for battle or field or kitchen.

In order to build muscle, resistance must be applied and increased as one develops.  This is true of brain development, skill development, all development.  We learn to stand,walk and run because we increasingly go against the resistance of gravity until we develop the strength of muscle, knowledge of forward motion and skill of balance to a degree that we can ambulate at will.

Marriages develop, not when the couple always agree on everything, that would leave them where they started, but rather when they work through the resistance of disagreements and struggle against the disparate will and understand of the other, seeking to come to a common ground.  That struggle against the grain of one another with purpose causes the sharpening of married life.

This is how God develops us.  When we wonder why a difficulty is allowed into our life, instead of trying to determine fault as in "What did I do to deserve this?", we ought to seek the answer to "How can I grow and develop from this?" of "What is God sharpening me to accomplish?"  Listen to the words of the apostle Paul, "… suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame..." (Rom 5:3-5).

I don't want to suggest that the sharpening process is easy, far from it.  I don't think that we can be expected to necessarily enjoy the process.  But we can find purpose and have hope, which will allow us to embrace what God allows, experiencing the growth and development God desires for us.  Jus' Say'n.