09/02/2022
As we pursue our faith we find that there are two basic types of people we can associate ourselves with; there are those who make us stronger in our belief, and those who dull our righteousness, or lead us into temptation… thus causing our faith to falter. So who do we surround ourselves with? Who do we call our friends, and are they like whet stones that sharpen us in righteousness, and faith to a fine edge, or hard rocks that we are swung against, and who dull us? Who is it that we call friend, and who calls us their friend?
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17 ESV
I meet each week with groups of believers who help me in my faith; they strive to lead righteous lives, and by my association with them I am made a better person. These people are not all saints, but they are striving to be, and the struggles they encounter as they seek out their salvation encourage me in my own. When they are weak I bring them strength, and when I am losing ground they know just how to lift me up, and where to find me when I am lost… they have been there themselves. But, I have one friend who never stumbles, and is able to find me, and lift me, when no other friend can help… This friend is Jesus Christ.
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
John 15:14 ESV
When Jesus calls me and I come to Him He is my friend. When He sends me out with the gospel on my lips, and I deliver it, He is my friend. When I feed the hungry and otherwise show mercy to those who suffer, He is my friend. But, most of all… when I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and when I love my neighbor as myself, He is my friend. In these ways, and more, He calls me His friend because this is who He is, and how He comes to me, and all these other things are what I receive from Him. They make want to follow, and be like Him. Is Jesus our friend today? Does He hone our lives and sharpen our faith?
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15 ESV
If our faith is sharpened by our association with other faithful friends, and honed to a fine edge by our friendship with Jesus Christ, then we become righteous, and righteousness allows us to be called the ultimate friend… like Abraham we become the friends of God Himself…
“and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”
James 2:23 ESV
Friendship is a treasure, and it is something to be guarded, and kept safe in our hearts. But, it can also be one of the most painful of all things we can experience when it is abused, improperly used, or abandoned… just as it was when Jesus was betrayed…
“After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.””
John 13:21 ESV
If, heaven forbid, we betray a friendship it can be very hard to restore… not only between ourselves and the one who we have betrayed, but deep within ourselves as our soul suffers the regret of our betrayal. The iron that was sharpened between Jesus and Judas Iscariot cut both ways. This teaches us that as we wield our sword, we not only cut, but can be cut by it. This is also the nature of iron that has been sharpened by iron.
“Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”
Matthew 27:3-5 ESV
When we sharpen each other in our faith, it can be a treasure, and one of the most rewarding and wonderful things that two people can share, but if that friendship, founded on the Word of God, is betrayed it can cause great pain and irreparable harm to us. Are we selective in our friendships, and do we choose our close friends very carefully? Are we a true friend like Jesus, or a fair weather friend like Judas? Is our iron, once sharpened, used only in righteous endeavors, and never in the backswing of betrayal?
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for our friends because they are the iron that sharpens our iron. Thank you for bringing us into association with other believers who help us through the hard times in our lives, and reinforce your Word as we seek out our salvation. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that gives us understanding, and encourages us to share it with our friends. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God, and our most honored, and glorious friend. Praised be your name for the ringing sound of your truth when we are honed by our friends in faith. Merciful are you who calls us friends, and sends us to help, and encourage, our fellow friends in their times of need. Lead us into righteousness Father, and befriend us like Abraham. Wash us in the blood of our friend Jesus Christ who gave His life for us, and then through your power and grace, picked it up again. Transform us Lord so that we become like Christ, and on the day of our judgement see only Him when you look upon us. Call us friend, and refer to us as your child, as you seat us at your family table forevermore.
““This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes