IRON SHARPENS IRON - PART 4

FRIDAY 06 DECEMBER 2024

Reference: Proverbs 27:17 New Living Translation (NLT)

"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

If you witness a friend that sharpens another, both of them definitely have something in common which is a harmonious force moving them into viable interrelationship - well inspired by reverence, (all) the more so, denoting that they are free from disagreement and conflict.

To that effect, Amos 3:3 reads, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"(KJV). So there must be a natural agreement and a spiritual affinity in place which are reasons beyond theoretical knowledge, that transcend any logical interpretation or explanatory analysis regarding their synchronous position.

Furthermore, an iron that sharpens iron is simply emblematic of genuine care or interest wanting the best for another, and the very part of us which is more apt to being renewed and sharpened is the "mindset" or the intellectual and spiritual faculties. Although I speak of this in general terms, I also want to accentuate the faithful need of using our spiritual gifts to sharpen the saints in Christ.

To that effect, Petrine epistolary dictum reads, "Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God's multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God's unmerited favour]" (1 Peter 4:10 AMP).

Spiritual gifts are special abilities graciously given by God to empower us in building the saints up in Christ - powered by an intense conviction based on the energy of divine wisdom. In other words, through spiritual gifts, our living energies, artistry and forte are consciously directed towards God's service, as we sharpen and thoroughly equip others for all good works through them - an understanding based on furnishing the saints with nobility in their character, plus coordinated rectitude, upright worthiness and influential integrity - in the path of fulfilling their glorious destinies in Christ.

Concerning these spiritual gifts, Pauline epistolary expression numbered as 1st Corinthians 12:4-6 stated that there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work (NLT). Although there are diversities in the  body of Christ, the body is a unit.

To that effect, 1st Corinthians 12:12-13 reads, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (NKJV).

In my emphatic conclusion, I want to remind us that the unarguable proof of embracing the right association (which is considered godly) is that it always leads to an access to rewarding experiences, effective capability in dealing with personal and all-round concerns, and a notable success in improving the well-being of those involved. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:3; Hebrews 10:24.

Exuberant Declaration:

I function with the aura of an inspired soul because I'm surrounded by the right fellows and companions with strong moral excellence and a higher sense of thought pattern. With great delight and ignited fervency, I am steadily persistent in growing my faith in the Lord and I conspicuously register my interest in improving and upgrading the mindset and well-being of others in the world around me. Hallelujah!