Iron Sharpening Iron

This past weekend, 5 buddies from Midland and myself took off to Ruidoso, NM to rest. We got a cabin for two nights and made zero plans on how to spend our time. Our plan was to have no plans.

The idea was born out of a few sermons that our pastor preached two months ago on Sabbath and rest. We decided that we needed to make rest a rhythmic part of our lives, so we chose a weekend to escape. The plan was to meet with God and rest as much as possible.

The funny thing is, we all rest differently. Some of us need to sleep for days. Some of us need to be adventurous and active. Some of us need a good book and a cup or two of coffee. Some of us need to be surrounded with people. Some of us need not see another soul for days. Some of us need to pray constantly and be filled with Scripture. Some of us need to process things out loud in group discussion and argument. Some of us need to process things on the inside through meditation.

I needed to be alone and have time to deal with God by myself. I would rather not have much outside stimuli such as discussion or activity. I need coffee, my Bible, a journal and some background music.

So we all entered the weekend with different ideas about what that rest might look like. Our group was very diverse and our resting styles did not jive with each other. This caused much frustration within each of us. The self-smart introverts needed to be alone and this caused the people-smart extroverts frustration because they couldn't work things out with conversation. The people-smart extroverts needed intense community and this frustrated us self-smart introverts because we needed time alone to be with ourselves and God.

For me though, even in the frustration I found great rest. I learned so much about myself and how sinful my heart is. Playing Settlers of Catan taught me more about myself than sitting with my Bible open for two hours ever could have. I need a community of brothers around me to rub against me. I need some friction to create sharpening. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. That Scripture verse sounds so sweet, but in reality iron sharpening iron is a very destructive and painful process. Rubbing against each other causes sanctification and growth in different ways than being alone ever could. Self-smart introverts need this. People-smart extroverts need this too.

God I pray that you would rub off the edges of our sinful hearts and sharpen us for greater effectiveness in ministry. I pray that community and Your Word would cause friction and shape us into Your image more and more.