We know we are different from non-Christians who don’t share our values, and we expect to disagree with them at times. But it can be tough when there is someone in your church or Bible study who can get on your last nerve at times. You might even have prayed for God’s wisdom to help you know how to appreciate that person. We are called  to love one another, but sometimes that is a difficult command to follow.

Why do we occasionally struggle to get along with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Why does God allow our paths to intertwine? Proverbs 27:17 says that “iron sharpens iron.” God allows people in our lives who will sharpen our thinking and our actions. If you learn to get along with a brother or sister in Christ, you will be much more able to get along with a person who is not yet saved. If you learn to forgive a fellow Christian, it will be easier to forgive a non-Christian too.

Our greatest blessings and our Christian strength will probably not come from those who we find it easy to be around, but from those who caused us to be careful, stronger, and to lean upon God’s character more than our own. There will always be a few brothers and sisters in Christ who push you to your last ounce of self-control. Iron sharpens iron. Chances are you will gain some of your greatest blessings, now and eternally, from these people God allows into your life.

Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. There will be people in your life who force you to run to God for strength and for the sake of your witness. It’s good advice to see them as God’s path for blessing. It’s wisdom to remember that iron sharpens iron. Allow God to use the difficult relationships to refine your life and witness and you will gain his wisdom.