By Nate Tucker

Honed for the War at Hand

The calm of a brisk, foggy morning in the mountains is disrupted by the birds and the soothing rhythmic sound of steel rubbing stone. A master bladesmith is sitting at his wet stone setting the edge of a freshly minted tantō. The Samurai’s life revolved around perfecting his trade and preparing for war. His tantō was like a Timex watch is to me, we don’t leave for work without it. One wonder of these men is their dedication to being prepared for war at all times. Another is that fine steel once sharpened by a skilled craftsman is easily honed by rubbing it against another piece of fine steel.

Proverbs 27:17 says “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Like a finely forged blade, we are made with intentionality. We have a specific purpose and our design is tailor-made for that purpose. Once we are saved, our edge is set by the Holy Spirit, we have to be honed often to keep our cutting edge efficient. The Samurai prepares for future battles on distant fields, peaceful meadows before the cries of battle. We as Christians, sons, and daughters of God, are born into a war that has been raging since the fall. The day you surrendered your life to Christ you enlisted in a righteous band of brothers and sisters whether you realize it or not. There is no taking the blue pill and going back to ignorance and laziness.

There’s no way to sharpen another if you are not in community. There are 59 “one another’s” in the New Testament. You can not one another one another without being around one another.

Many of them are talking about “loving” one another. The Bible isn’t talking about surface level, cheap love, but deep care and desire for those around us. God knew that living a life for him would be difficult for us. That’s why he made us for community.

Our Men’s and Women’s groups are where we hone each other for the war at hand. Listening to expository preaching and studying the Bible are both great things handed down by God. There is something different though when people get together and discuss the word, discuss what’s going on in their lives, discuss what sins are being battled in real-time. Sorry, I can’t speak about why a woman wouldn’t attend because I’m not one. We men can’t seem to get past our pride to show up, or we are too busy. We are worried about what others might think, if they know the real me I won’t look as manly, or I might be judged. It is by showing up that we can be sharpened.

Women, our world tells you if you don’t look a certain way or have certain measurements that you aren’t beautiful. This is a lie from the pit of hell because ALL are made in the image of God. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” according to Psalm 139:13-15. Our world dilutes the sacred intimacy between husband and wife to a swipe of the finger and text message. Strong women watching over the young girls of our community is vitally important. Women, you must commit to reinforcing who’s they (the young women) are and who’s image they were made in.

Men, to quote Kent Hughes, “Individualism, autonomy, privatization, and isolation are culturally cachet, but deep, devoted, vulnerable friendship is not. This is a great tragedy for self, family and the church, because it is in relationships that we develop into what God wants us to be.” We must humble ourselves to submit to Gods word. We must be willing to gather together to share our life experiences. No man is on an island, by that I mean no one is going through something that no one else has gone through. We need to share just as much as others need to know they are not alone. Our society says a man is to be a ripped ab stoic. Men, don’t be fooled by this garbage. A real man follows the path God has set for him and uses the strength God has given him to build up others and humbly allow others to build them up.

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