Proverbs 27:17-19 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 27:17-19, which reads,

v.17 - Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Who is your iron that is sharpening you?  This is a favorite verse quoted often in men's groups.  I think there are also books that have taken this as their title.  It is iron and iron so it is similar metals rubbing against each other to create a betterment in them both.  We are to have mentors or counselors of wisdom but we are also to have peers who we are living life with, rubbing shoulders with, who are also godly.  As we live life with them, our close godly company, a sharpening of who we are in God will happen.  

As a parent we are always concerned about our children's closest friends.  We want them to be of the same metal, the same value system, so that our child continues to grow in godly maturity rather than decline to foolish patterns.  Are your friends sharpening you?  Are you being challenged spiritually by those you hang around the most?  Are they iron or are they some other metal of another god?  May our churches be full of iron to sharpen us to be wise in following after God.

v.18 - He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for his master will be honored.

This is another growing process by pruning.  The fig tree is cut back a tremendous amount each year to produce a bumper crop of figs.  I couldn't believe how much is cut off and how fast it grows new branches with fresh fruit.  We need those around us that will godly prune us so that we produce more for the glory of God.  Pruning is hard to do but necessary.  Sometimes a tree can look fine from a distance but when you get closer and look at the interior of the tree you see dead branches or branches that are growing inward instead of outward.  This care hurts at times but the end result will be the giving of more honor to our Master, Jesus Christ.

Who is pruning you?  Are you allowing yourself to be pruned?  Do you have those around you who can get close enough to see those dead branches and inward growth branches that need to come out?  Will you let them do their ministry to help you to grow?  The fruit of our lives that is increased by godly pruning touches more lives with the love of God.

v.19 - As in water face reflects face, so the heart of the man reflects man.

Solomon gives us another tool to keep on point with God.  We need a mirror to look into.  We need a calm body of water to reflect back to us what we look like.  We need help to see what we really look like.  We need something or someone who will show us the reflection of our hearts.  We need someone who is close enough to us to accurately read our motives for what we do and say.  

Sometimes I don't want to look in the mirror.  Sometimes I already know that it doesn't look good so I turn from the mirror and not face reality.  The mirror is there for our benefit.  The mirror shows the ungodly imperfections so we can work on them through repentance and surrender to God's will.  What we see and hear on the outside reveals a bigger situation on our insides that needs to be dealt with.

 Three tools in our bag that we need to pull out daily.  We pull out the tool of some iron, those like us following after God, to sharpen us in our walk with Him.  We pull out the tool of pruning shearers which are those who examine us closely to prune away the dead branches and any growing in the wrong direction.  We pull out the tool of a mirror that is put before us to see what is really in our heart.  Do you have people in your life who can godly sharpen you, prune you, and put the mirror up to you?  Let us pray.

"Lord, help us to not only have these types of people in our lives but also to be these types of people to others.  Help us to live for You so that we can sharpen others as we are sharpened.  Help us to prune others as we are being pruned.  Help us to help others to see their true reflection as we are allowing the mirror to be put before us.  May there be a sharpness, fruit, and reflection that glorifies You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam