"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friends." Proverbs 27:17.



This verse has a significant meaning for me and has helped me further my spiritual growth in GOD. When a child is born, it doesn't have any of the nuances, such as accents in speech or habits that it will later develop as it grows up. All these characteristics will develop as a result of influences the child will be exposed to. We, as adults, experiences the same influences, even though we have, for the most part, already developed our basic characteristics. For instance, if I spend an extended amount of time in Texas, I catch myself starting to speak with a bit of a Texas drawl. We are influenced by our surroundings and it rubs off on us and this is one reason why it is so important to have fellowship with other Christians. When surrounded by good Christian character, it rubs off on us, making us stronger in our faith.



When we have a strong Christian character, we then may be able influence those who have yet to discover Jesus. Recently my wife's cousin and his wife had a terrible fight and had both agreed that the best way to resolve the dispute was through divorce. I did my best to counsel them amidst the shouting and crying but they were convinced that divorce was the only way. Shortly afterwards, my wife got angry at me (as she often does being very temperamental) and was giving me an ear full. Her anger was unwarranted but instead of getting angry and fighting back, I just thought of how Jesus was betrayed by his own people who was just trying to save, heal and teach and I countered my wife's ire with kindness. The result was my wife's anger quickly dissipating. Her cousin and his wife witnessed this and it influenced them to forego the divorce and promise to try to be more patient with each other. Perhaps my Christian character influenced them in some way.



Now here's a very cool thing. When we pray from our hearts, we are in the presence of GOD. The more time we spend in prayer to HIM, the more being in HIS presence rubs off on us. Knowing this only makes me want to pray more and more. I ask GOD to sharpen me into HIS useful tool and welcome any influence HE has over me.