17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17 CSB)

I had an opportunity to get with a few brothers this week and practice this scripture. In both cases I believe we all walked away … better. Maybe not fixed, but just better. I know I sure did.

It is very easy for me to become isolated because I am a relatively solitary person. But I know the inherent danger in this and recognize the need God formed in us to come together and make each other better.

John Donne coined in a poem, ”no man is an island”. The rugged western idea of individualism has some value in driving one to be self-sufficient. However, within that too is the capability to become self-absorbed and selfish.

Understanding our need for interaction and how God crafted our need for community can help us break out of our self-imposed isolation. We can begin to see the larger scope of God’s plan for mankind and our place in it.

Christ did not call a single disciple, He called twelve. He knew the need for diversity in the men he called, He knew their need for companionship once He was gone. Whether in a ministry setting or in a personal one, unto ourselves we can only be so effective. But when we combine our talents, we pool our resources and our abilities we can do ever so much more.

We were meant to sharpen one another.