Year 5, Day 318: Proverbs 27

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Imitation

• Imitation: This is the second over-arching step of the discipleship process.  First we gain information, then we imitate our spiritual mentor.  Imitation leads to innovation of spirituality in our own life.

Iron sharpens iron.  It is perhaps the most often quoted proverb.  But we always hear it in the same context.  When I need to grow, I need to find someone who can challenge me.  I need to find someone who can push me beyond my current limitations.  I will not grow by hanging out only with people who are of a lesser status or a weaker condition. If I want to grow, I need to find someone who is capable of meeting my mettle and standing firm.

This is talking largely about the discipleship process.  We aren’t discipled by people who are weaker than us.  We aren’t discipled by people who cannot push us.  We aren’t discipled by people who don’t have a firm lesson to share.

What we are inherently talking about, then, is imitation.  If I want my own iron to become sharp, then I need to find someone who has what it takes to sharpen my iron.  Then I need to imitate them.  I am sharpened by imitating those who are capable of sharpening my character.

We need to understand this dynamic as we go through life.  Without a person to sharpen us – without a person to imitate – we will become stagnant.  But if we can find that person or persons to imitate, then we are that iron being sharpened by iron.

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