Are You The Stone Or The Blade?

Proverbs describes the dynamics of a healthy relationship with a very manly metaphor:  "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (27:17)  It seems to me that the idea here is that the sharpening is mutual.  You can't always be the blade, and you shouldn't always be the whetstone.  That topic deserves further thought and meditation, but today I have a story to tell.

I have a friend who sharpens me and he doesn't even know it.  His name is Blake and we went to school together in the way back time.  Blake was born with William's Syndrome, a fascinating and rare neurodevelopmental disorder, a fact that caused other kids to tease him in our younger years.  He's a talented singer, and plays a right-handed guitar upside down and left-handed.  He lives with his parents in Florida and he works at his church as their handyman, eager and willing to do whatever he can to help out.  

A couple of weeks ago Blake flew back to Kansas to visit his grandma, and we had the chance to hang out one afternoon.  And so it happened that as we were sitting outside at Sonic chomping burgers and chili-cheese tots, Blake was telling me how good life is and about his friends in Florida, and how he loves his job, and then he outs with this statement:  "I try to make sure somebody else is having a nice day besides me."

I try to make sure somebody else is having a nice day besides me.

Never in my life have I uttered such a statement.  I was at once humbled and encouraged.  I realized in that moment what a rat I am and how beautiful the simplicity of selflessness can be.  With conviction came challenge.  Let me tell you, Blake sharpened me that day, and I believe that's the inevitable result when we live and love as Christ did.