“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

When I was in Junior High School, my father went ‘all in’ to satisfy an old desire. I came home from school and there in the basement were huge boxes, their contents being assembled into large power tools. Ultimately their various pieces became a 12” radial arm saw (with shop vac and attachments) and a wood lathe. My father’s secret desire was born.

Dad told me that his favorite class in high school was wood shop. I knew that he had dropped out of school to join the Navy, but didn’t know this part of his story. So I pressed him for details. Apparently his shop teacher took a liking to the guys and knew just how to relate to them. He even let them, “smoke cigarettes and play mumbly peg!” Yes… you read that right! The impression of that teacher was long lasting because, there before me, lay a tribute to his educational technique.

As time went on I learned that my dad’s passion for wood shop had absolutely nothing to do with wood. He couldn’t build a thing! After the blades and chisels got dull, all they produced was smoke! He didn’t know how to sharpen them or care. So the tools mostly just sat.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am NOT dishonoring my father. ALL of us have tried new things that we thought we would like, only to find out that they actually SOUNDED better than they were. I learned a lot of lessons from his desire. My brother and I learned how to play ‘mumbly peg’ pretty well… AND how to make ‘billy clubs!’

After getting married, my first job was carpentry. As a frame carpenter in training, I learned that when smoke comes off the saw while cutting lumber, it’s time to stop and sharpen your blade. I thought, “OH… new concept!” And therein lies another great lesson in life.

Being a Christian, a male and a pastor, I have run into LOTS of smoking lumber. Having been there myself, I can recognize it quickly. There are really only 2 choices in life. Like ‘good and evil,’ we can choose to either walk ‘by sight,’ or walk ‘by faith.’ And the verse today clearly tells us what God expects of His own.

Today’s verse shows that the way God tunes us is by using other folks of faith to spark, grind and sharpen us into the people He wants us to be. An old saying says ‘where there is smoke there is fire.’ In God’s world, we can also say. “Where there are sparks, God’s heroes are being sharpened!” And that is MY heavenly Father’s ‘NOT so secret’ desire.

So… how sharp are YOU? And what do YOU really want?