Sharper Living

“He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God.” - Abraham Kuyper

Every other year, Refueling in Flight Ministries hold a face-to-face board meeting. The board members are people I’ve known long enough that they can tell me the truth and give me wise advice. Bedford and Sara Holmes, Ken and Jan Sutterfield, Brad and Cindy Mercer, met last week with Cay and me to pray, report, evaluate, and plan.

We have been friends for thirty years. We helped raise each other’s children, and wept and laughed together many times.

Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) My mind’s eye always imagined a blacksmith with a powerful hammer, slamming down upon a red-hot piece of metal. But that is the shaping process, not sharpening.

Sharpening is a slow, gradual process. It is iron intersecting with iron for a long time. The rough edges of one blade steadily refining the rough edges of another. And in the process, both pieces are sharpened.

Everyone needs friends in their life. If you have such friends, thank God for them. If not, start looking for them today. Find a few friends who will help hone the dull aspects of your life and make you sharper and more effective, as you do the same for them.

Dan Bolin

President

Refueling in Flight Ministries