Iron sharpens Iron...

This morning I find myself reflecting on how to both be a "better" disciple of Jesus and how to make disciples of Jesus.  Every time I pray, I ask God to use me as a tool to accomplish His purpose and will.  The only problem is that a dull blade is a very ineffective tool.  It is frustrating to pick up a knife to cut a tomato only to have the knife shred the tomato instead of cutting smoothly through it's flesh.  The knife is useless and goes back into the drawer.  That is the kind of tool I feel like I am to God sometimes; a dull, useless blade.

I want to be a disciple that has a great impact on the Kingdom of God.  I want to be a part of His plan and His work.  I want to see victories and celebrations and life-change taking place and know that I got to be a part of it all!  However, if I want to see all of that happen, I cannot be a useless, dull blade in God's hands.  That thought drives me to a simple bit of wisdom found in the Bible - Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."  This verse says a LOT in it's nine simple words.

RELATIONSHIPS - It strikes me that discipleship is not a one-way street.  I cannot be an effective disciple-maker unless I am in relationships with other strong disciples at the same time.  Notice the verse does not say "As cotton sharpens iron".  If I try to be a blade that is constantly cutting without ever being sharpened, the ONLY possible result is for me to become dull and ineffective.  To be a disciple-maker AND to be a stronger disciple in my own life, it must begin by having intentional sharpening relationships with other strong disciples.  This is not only for my own good, but for theirs too!  As a leader in the church I realize my direct influence has limits.  There comes a point where others must also become disciple-makers if our influence as a church is to expand beyond my limits.  If I can be in one relationship with another strong disciple where we are intentionally sharpening each other, each of us has doubled our influence.  If I can be in three such relationships at the same time, we EACH are multiplying our influence four-fold!

This leads me to think about what needs to be a part of these intentional sharpening relationships...

First, we must agree on the nature and purpose of the relationship.  Let's say there are three people I want to enter into this kind of iron sharpening relationship with.  The four of us need to get together and talk about how we each want to be stronger disciples of Jesus, we want to become disciple-makers, and we need each other to be successful.

Second, we must recognize that iron is the same as iron.  While we each have different strengths and weaknesses, we are all equals in the relationship.  There is no teacher, no one person with greater authority, and no one person viewed as the leading or driving force.  It isn't a "small group", it is a group of strong disciples intentionally getting together to sharpen one another.

Third, we must put EVERYTHING on the table and allow accountability and discipline to take place.  We must be open about our failures, our weaknesses, and our vulnerabilities.  We must be willing to say hard things to each other and ready to hear hard things from each other knowing it is all based on love and sharpening each other.  Have you never noticed how sparks fly when iron strikes iron?  That is because for iron to sharpen iron, there must be great impact and that can be painful.

Fourth, we must each be committed to the relationship.  We need to make time to get together and share face-to-face on a regular basis.  Not just for a meeting in a room, but getting together like any group of friends would, only with a greater purpose in mind.

What could God do with a sharper disciple to work with?  What if I stopped trying to be an ineffective disciple-maker using a dull blade and multiplied my influence and the influence of a few other disciples by taking Proverbs 27:17 to heart and putting it into practice?  I imagine the impact of such action would be profound and exciting.

You see what nine simple words can do?  God's Word is amazing!

The Value of Things...

As a "preacher", I find myself wrestling with finding balance between teaching the hard-core nature and truth of what it really means to be a disciple (follower) of Jesus and the reality of how that should look in each of our lives in today's world.

For example:  I read Luke 14:25-27 and believe Jesus really does mean what He is saying here.  To really follow Him, I must make being His disciple the most important thing and the driving force motivating all of my actions and decisions every day.  Everything else in my life should pale in comparison.  But there is a problem.  I don't even come close to living up to this standard in my personal life!

I preach a lot about our "mission" as Christians and as the Church.  Scripture is clear that we are aliens and strangers here on earth.  Our home is in Heaven.  Our lives are like a mist on the water, here one minute and gone the next.  Our mission is to be Ambassadors of Christ and to share the Gospel with as many people as we can while we eagerly await the return of Christ.  All great sermon lines and all are true, but how do we do it?  How do I do it in my own life?

Is it OK that I "clock-out" of the mission for a while to watch a baseball game or a good movie?  Is it OK that the mission gets put off until tomorrow so I can have a day off now and then?  Is it OK that the spiritually lost and dying will still be lost and dying when I get back from vacation?

As I wrestle with these things and how to teach them to my congregation in an effective way, I am starting to see that it all comes down to the true value of things.

I have heard it said that something is only worth as much as you're willing to pay for it.  I don't have a smart phone because I'm not willing to pay for the required data plan.  Having internet access 24/7 is not worth $30 a month to me, therefore I'm not willing to pay the price.  I don't like to go to meetings unless I have to because I usually don't find much value in them.  I'd rather spend my time doing something of greater benefit.

My point here is that if I value something, I will pay the price required for it.  The reason I find myself falling short of accomplishing the mission I am called to as a follower of Jesus is clearly due to the fact that I have not matured in my faith to the point of placing great value on that mission.

If I truly valued the truth of this life on earth just being a speck of sand in the vast desert of eternity, AND that God has given me a mission to tell as many people as I can about how Christ came to this earth so we could spend all of eternity with Him in Heaven...wouldn't I put Luke 14:25-27 into practice and live every minute of every day on a mission as an Ambassador for Christ?

Agreeing with what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3, I may have not reached that level of maturity yet...as a matter of fact, I'm not even close!  But I am committed to pressing on in this mission to which I have been called so I might one day take hold of accomplishing it.

In the mean time, I will keep trying and I will keep preaching these truths.  When it seems unrealistic, just remember...it all comes down to the value of things.  If it is valuable and important to you, you will pay the price!