Earlier this year I went to a wood show near St. Louis. It was an extraordinary event, plus I got to spend some time with my wife Lara and my dad. My dad was there because he was a woodworker. Lara was there because you don’t send two boys off to a wood show with a credit card when they are unsupervised. It’s dangerous!
The convention center was packed with thousands of woodworkers and hundreds of vendors from all over the states. There were so many people that we could hardly move around. As we slowly migrated from booth to booth, professional woodworkers would demonstrate a new tool or a new technique. Then we’d have the opportunity to ask questions, investigate matters further, and part with some of our hard earned cash! During the show it was common for a complete stranger to strike up a conversation with you about a wood project that he was working on, or to recommend a tool, or to offer helpful advice. There was tremendous synergy among convention goers.
At the time I had been building an oak computer desk and had run into a few splinters. My enthusiasm for finishing the computer desk had kind of stalled out, and I wondered if I would ever get it finished and what it would look like if I did! But after spending only a few hours and a couple hundred dollars at the wood show, I was inspired. I had learned some new techniques. I had acquired some new tools. My questions had been answered. I had been encouraged to see new possibilities. With my passion for woodworking rekindled I returned home and finished the desk. Of course now I’m thinking of building an entertainment center!
The Practice of "One-anothering"
This morning we are launching deeper into this idea of one-anothering. If there can be synergy at a woodworking show, or at a Nascar race, or at a basketball game, then just think what can happen when God’s people come together? There is something divine that happens when we come together that does not happen, and cannot happen when we remain apart from one another. Call it inspiration, call it encouragement, call it synergy, call it whatever you want. But it does not happen when we drift into isolation, cutting ourselves off from fellowship.
Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." A dull Christian is one who drifts into isolation, who is self-reliant, who does not see value in coming together with other Christians, and who slips into a spiritual lull. A sharpened Christian is one who as a result of coming together with other Christians, renews his passion for Christ, more deeply opens himself to the work of God’s Holy Spirit, more profoundly loves God’s family, and more greatly impacts God’s world. One-anothering is the sharpening of one Christian by another Christian. It is the collision of wrought iron against wrought iron. It is God working in us and through us, even painfully at times, to fashion us into his image.
If there is one passage that speaks to the value of coming together it is Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV). "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
One-Anothering Demonstrates Value
You have probably already noticed this passage says, "Let us", four times. These verses are inviting us to discover the value of one another. The truth is that we don’t always see the value of other Christians. I remember when I was a young buck running around the church creating headaches for my parents, and I was one of the few people in the church my age. Typically I would sit in the very back row of the church, messing around, shooting spitballs, throwing paper airplanes, doodling pictures, repeatedly getting up during the service to walk the halls and look for donuts in the kitchen. The songs bored me. The prayers bored me. The sermon bored me. I didn’t need the church and the church certainly didn’t need me. That was my attitude!
But there was this elderly couple named Ed and Flo who took an interest in me. They too sat in the back row, but for completely different reasons. Ed was well over eighty years old. He always carried a large, well-worn Bible under his arm. Whenever a verse of scripture was read, he would look it up and study it intently. He wasn’t afraid to ask tough questions.
On the other hand, his wife Flo could barely walk. She had severe health problems and our church was always praying for her. Flo always had a smile on her face, and seemed at peace with her health. This couple adopted me as their spiritual grandson. Ed would always say, "Jonathan, how was your week?" Other times he would open his Bible to a verse of scripture and ask me questions about its meaning. One time he had the audacity to tell me that I would become a preacher. Ed and Flo didn’t see me as I was. They saw my potential and they saw my restless energy being harnessed for God’s kingdom and God’s glory. At first I ignored them, but over time I learned to value their wisdom and experience. I saw them as spiritual giants and as people I wanted to become like.
I used to be angry that there weren’t a lot of kids my age at church. But if there had been a lot of kids my age, I would not have gotten to know Ed and Flo. I wouldn’t have learned to value the wisdom and experience of older people. I don’t think we always see the value in one another, young and old alike.
During my second year of Bible college I started teaching an adult Sunday school class. Okay, it wasn’t really a class. It was me and one other guy named Mike. Every Sunday I would grab Mike and review what I was learning in Bible college. Well, Mike rejected just about everything I taught. He couldn’t accept the idea that Jesus Christ is savior of the world. "What do you mean when you say that Jesus is the only way to heaven? I don’t think it matters if you are a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew!" He loved going off on tangents. "Don’t you believe in extraterrestrial life? I invited the Mormons into my house and they said…"
Every Sunday I would say to myself, "What a waste of my time. Does he not realize that I am teaching God’s word? Does he not realize I’m getting a Bible college degree?" I tried to persuade the elders to use some church discipline on Mike. "How can he be a member of this church and not accept Christ as Lord and savior?" Of course the elders would just smile and say, "We’d like you to keep teaching." But Mike was getting under my skin. He questioned my beliefs. He rejected my interpretations of scripture. He dismissed me because of my youth. He scoffed at my education and degrees. He angered me. He exasperated me.
But Mike did something else for me that I would always be indebted to him for. He caused me to grow. Mike forced me to do my homework, to really search for the truth, to go the extra mile, to be familiar with other beliefs, and to have a ready defense for the hope within me. His stubborn antagonism only deepened my passion for Jesus Christ and God’s word. Although I grieved his unbelief, I came to see that Mike had value to God and to me.
I have been part of the Church my whole life, from childhood to the present. You can bet that I have encountered about every type of situation and type of person imaginable. There have been those godly, spiritual giants like Ed and Flo who just fed my soul. There have been those new babes in Christ who live for Christ with such incredible zeal. They take such bold steps of faith. I think they should be my pastors! There have been those steady examples who have persevered in faith and ministry who I can call at any moment of any day and draw encouragement from. There have been those antagonistic, unteachable types like Mike who challenged me. There have been those malicious types who spread rumors and lies, casting dispersions, judging my intentions, and disrupting the good work that God was doing in the church. There have been those excessively needy types who latched on and never let go until they had sucked every last ounce of energy from my body, and who violated every sensible boundary you set for them. I have learned that we needn't fear one another. We needn’t fear one another.
Do you realize that whether we think other members of the body have value or not, God uses each and every one of us, even in our immaturity, to accomplish his purposes? I am not suggesting that we shrug our shoulders over matters of sin or unbelief. What I am suggesting, however, is that we value being with one another and that we not use each other’s imperfections as an excuse to forsake the assembly. When wrought iron collides with wrought iron it can make a lot of noise, sparks can fly, and the pain can reverberate through our bodies. But at the end of the day we are better for having collided. We are sharper and less dull. At the end of the day we inevitably discover that God has been at work and in charge of the whole process. Instead of retreating from fellowship with one another, we ought to be drawn into fellowship with one another with the realization that God can accomplish much more good when we're together than when we are isolated from one another.
Now lets return to Hebrews 10:23-25 for a few moments. What is the, "iron sharpening iron" benefit that God wants us to have upon one another? Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV) says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
A first "iron sharpening iron" benefit is a stronger faith.
The key to holding, "unswervingly to the hope we profess" and being reminded that, "he who promised is faithful" is one-anothering. A few years ago I was out on Lake Springfield with some friends. Lara was there too. We had been taking turns being dragged behind their boat on an inner-tube when I came up with the bright idea of trying to learn how to water ski. So out into the lake I went. I positioned myself and gave the thumbs up for full throttle. But the force of water against my body made it impossible to hold on to the rope. Again and again we tried to get me up on skis, but to no avail. I couldn’t hold on. About that time, a jet boat pulling a little girl on skis began circling us, waving and smiling. She wasn’t there to help me. She was there to humiliate me! When I looked up and saw Lara and our friends also laughing, I was done with skiing!
It is nearly impossible to hold on very long without the support of other Christians. From time to time we all need to be reminded that God is faithful. We all need to be reminded of the basic truths of the gospel. We all need people to pray with us, to walk with us, and to help us get up on our skis. Going it alone is a sure formula for failure. We hold on to our hope with one another, in community, and in relationship with other Christians.
A second "iron sharpening iron" benefit is a more active love.
Hebrews 10:24 (NIV) says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." This past week a group of us from the church went to a Church leaders conference. On the first day of the conference a whole host of speakers were talking about the difference they were making fighting AIDS, world hunger, or poverty. Most of the speakers were just ordinary people like a house wife or a pastor who decided one day to do something about the problems afflicting their city or a country. As they shared their testimonies you could see the wheels of creativity turning as hundreds of church leaders listened. What can God do through me? Where else are people spurred on toward good deeds if not by other Christians?
A last "iron sharpening iron" benefit is an encouraged soul.
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) concludes, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see Day approaching. "Life is full of discouragement. It is easy to grow weary in doing good or to give up when times are tough. The church is one place where we can go to have our empty tanks filled up. We can look out toward the horizon and be reminded of Christ’s return.
In the coming weeks I want this to be a time of reassessing the value of one another. A time for considering how we might strengthen one another’s faith in Christ. A time for considering how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds. A time for considering how we might gather together for the purpose of encouragement. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."