Tom locked up the brakes on his bike and skidded to a halt. It was a good thing Nicki was paying attention. She hit her brakes hard, and stopped with her front wheel just inches from Tom’s leg. The skidding tires on the dry dirt road sent a small cloud of dust into the air.
“What are you doing?” Nicki asked her friend.
“Come on, let’s go explore the junkyard,” Tom said as he gripped the chainlink fence, and began to climb.
Nicki scanned the endless rows of junk cars in Johnson’s Salvage Yard, but she didn’t move.
“Rich and Bill told me they found some valuable stuff in the junked cars last week,” Tom sat, straddling the top of the fence, and coaxed Nicki to follow. “They found a pair of designer sunglasses and a change purse with over ten dollars in coins.”
Nicki enjoyed exploring as much as anyone, but she did not budge. “Isn’t that trespassing, and stealing?”
“There’s no one around, and besides, it’s all junk,” Tom said.
A black, luxury car with a smashed front end caught Nicki’s eye. “Maybe there were valuable items left for the taking,” She thought to herself. “Who would know?”
“Are you coming, or are you too afraid?” Tom tried to shame Nicki into exploring the junkyard.
“No!, It’s wrong! Let’s go.” She commanded. “There is a youth event a church that will be starting in a little while. We should go there instead.”
Tom signed. “That’s boring. Last time they just sat around and talked for almost two hours.”
“They are having games today. It will be more fun. Come on,” said Nicki.
Tom didn’t like being told what to do. Even though the stiff wire fence was digging into his leg, he sat still, thinking about what he would do. He tried one last time to get Nicki to come along. “Fine, if you’re too scared, I will go by myself, but if I find something good, I’m not going to share.”
“Do what you want, but don’t pretend it’s not wrong.” Nicki stood on her pedal and sped away.
Tom considered going by himself, but realized it wouldn’t be as much fun. Disappointed, he took one last glance at the lot-full of cars, then jump down, picked up his bike, and slowly rode away.
About a mile down the dirt road, Tom came to a stop, hopped of his bike and turned hard right, into the woods. This was a familiar shortcut to his house. He walked his bike through the tangle of old, fallen trees, and brush. After a short hike, the dense woods opened up to an abandoned farm, overgrown with tall weeds.
As Tom pushed his way through the high grass, his foot caught on a hidden object, causing him to stumbled forward. Parting the weeds, he found what looked like a metal tool, half buried in the dirt. Tom pulled it out of the ground and, found it was a rusty knife. He wiped off the sticky dirt with his fingers and revealed the corroded blade of a small hunting knife that had likely been there for years.
A few minutes later, Tom rolled into the driveway of his house and headed straight into the garage. He cleaned the knife off with a rag, and found that, in spite of the dull rusty blade, it was in pretty good condition. “I can’t wait to show Nicki” Tom thought to himself. “I hope she’s not mad at me.”
Digging a file out his father’s took box, Tom scraped it along the edge of the blade. Even though it made a loud screech, it barely touched the surface of the blade. Tom made a second pass with the file, and then a third. Eventually the rust began to give way, and a thin strip of shiny metal appeared. Again and again, he ground at the blade with the file. Tom carefully felt the blade, but quickly jerked his hand away. The intense grinding had heated the metal to a finger-searing temperature. Fortunately, the burn was minor and the pain disappeared in seconds. As he worked, he thought about last week’s Bible lesson. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Tom thought about how Nicki had kept him from going into the junkyard, and from taking something that didn’t belong to him. He was glad to have a good friend like Nicki, who wasn’t afraid to do the right thing. Tom left the knife on the workbench, and jumped on his bike. Now seemed like a good time to find Nicki and thank her.
Other Stories You Might Enjoy
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For Discussion
Look up Proverbs 27:17
What is one way you can “sharpen” a brother or sister in Christ?
Think of a time when you were “sharpened” by someone. How did it feel?
What happens when you grind two pieces of metal together?
Sharpening could mean help or encouraging someone in their faith, but scrapping two pieces of iron together will make noise and cause the metal to get hot. Being “sharpened” can be an unpleasant experience. Are you willing to be sharpened by your sisters and brothers in Christ? Even if it’s unpleasant?