Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Proverbs 27:17

You may not know this, but I wanted a sibling.  I had a strong desire to have a little person to walk through life with.  I shared my dreams with my mom, and as fate would have it, my brother was born.  He was going to be my sidekick.  My friend.  A confidante.

Today, I can say that he is all those things, but it hasn’t always been that way.  I tried to be his mother.  I tried to mold him and shape him in MY image.  So, you can understand why we had such a tumultuous relationship.  We’ve always loved each other, but I haven’t always respected him or given him space just to be who he is.

Bible Study Brother was asked to be the Men’s Day speaker at his church.  He was adamant that it wasn’t a sermon.  He was just speaking.  From the podium where announcements are made.  He wasn’t going into the pulpit.

He took the assignment seriously.  He poured over the message for months.  He thought on it.  He prayed about it.  He was going to speak whatever God wanted him to say.

As Men’s Day approached, I could tell that he had things on his mind.  We speak frequently.  I know when something is bothering him.  Usually, I’m the something that’s bothering him…LOL.  He knows that I’m silly and doesn’t often take me seriously.  The more we talked…the more I felt that I needed to say something.  Not in a joking manner but from a sincere place.

So, I shared some of my thoughts about his situation with him.  The next day he called to tell me that he had accepted his call into the ministry.  This past Sunday was Men’s Day.  Bible Study Brother walked into the pulpit and publicly accepted his call into the ministry.

Although I’m a thug from way back, I cried.  I HAD NO INTENTION OF SHEDDING TEARS.  I don’t cry in public.  But I had no control.  My frozen heart melted and made water come from my eyes. 

His sermon primarily came from Proverbs.  He talked about how knives are actually sharpened.  Bible Study Brother attended culinary school for a while.  So, he brought out his knife honer.  He explained that knives have a curve.  A honing steel pushes the edge of the knife back to the center.  It straightens the knife out.  It helps preserve its sharpness.

As Christians…as the body of Christ, we are called to keep each other in alignment.  Not to control people.  Not the way that I used to handle my relationship with my brother.  But, we are called to help them maintain focus.  To always point them to God.

I almost forgot to tell you the craziest part of Sunday.  As Bible Study Brother began to preach, a bat started flying around the sanctuary.  You didn’t read that wrong.  A BAT!!!  He calmly said, “Oh, it’s a bat,” and continued to preach as this bat had a field day in the sanctuary.  My cousin looked up what bats symbolize.  Google said that they represent death but not in a morbid way.  They symbolize the passing away of the old and the beginning of something new.

We rejoice for the new life that Bible Study Brother is experiencing.  Keep my baby brother in your prayers.  He is my sidekick.  My friend.  My confidante.  #wepreach