Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. 

Proverbs 27:17

The sun was shinning brightly early this Saturday morning.  The winds have been unusually harsh lately and the rains poured last night.  None of that was in the weather the time I left our home to pick up my friend Kevin to go for breakfast at Calders Hotel and Conference Centre in the sleepy little town of Fish Hoek.

As we drove along the road the smell of the fresh ocean air filled our noses, the waves had calmed from the day before, but could still be heard and were breaking on the rocky shoreline.  The ocean was blue and turquoise with a few whitecaps scattered around in the distance.

I was looking forward to the breakfast and meeting people from other churches and hopefully some new people from the community as well. I was not disappointed.  We stood milling around in the foyer drinking coffee, exchanging handshakes,names and generally getting to know a little about each other.

The buffet breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast, juice and more coffee was held in a spacious solarium with four people to a table.  I had the delight of sitting with Garth, his wife Carmen, and a gentleman named Alan.  We talked about some of the local politics and compared how things are unfolding in South Africa and how Canada has dealt with it's own form of apartheid, the Native Indian Reserves.  It was not meant to be a problem solving talk, we also talked about our families and the washed out roads my wife Shelley had to contend with coming home from Stellenbosch the night before.

Once we finished breakfast we moved into a conference room where Monty talked to us about the 'hedge hog' concept.  I have heard about it before but have never fully explored it's possibilities.  It was great to hear him bring around these concepts into the church, and how we should be using our gifting in the church to further the cause of Christ.

Some of us were given opportunity to share that we were beginning businesses, and what we needed to move our businesses to the next level.  Mine being in it's fledgling stage of starting this blog.  I praise God that in five weeks since I began writing, it is being read in fifteen nations around the world and I have had people write to me, sharing how it has changed their lives.

Who do you have around you that you can trust and be challenged to improve in areas of your life?

Are you consistent in reading God's word, allowing it to shine light in parts of your life that need growth?

Will you seek someone out so that you can be an encouragement to, a challenge to and a support to?

Someone that you will allow to sharpen you, and that you in turn can sharpen.