“Love is the fruit that most often flourishes in a life of holiness.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 31, 2023
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. Isaiah 35:8
Holy friends are birthed out of love for God and love for one another. These unique, exceptional individuals bring relational energy and emotional engagement to each other. They are set apart by God to serve one another by giving each other words of life and, when necessary, words of warning. “You are brave and generous to defer to what your family needs and to wait on what you want.” These sacred relationships are solidified and sustained by love…a generous love obtained by abiding in the Lord’s perfect love. Holy friends are not perfect friends, but indeed happy because they know that even after knowing each other’s quirks and sins, they are 100% accepted and cherished as beloved children of God. Holy friends are made holy by God and set apart for Him.
By God’s grace, some of these special friends are able to travel through life together on the Lord’s highway of holiness. Pilgrims of the faith who walk together on the path of holiness first trod by Jesus Christ, who modeled the way of love throughout His lifetime. So, with God as their common guide, holy friends look to the Holy One as they travel together on the highway to heaven. It is a narrow one-way road with the ongoing threat of robbers seeking to steal their trust, with exit ramps of comfort and healing, and the joy of seeing Jesus ahead as the final destination. Jesus describes Himself as the Way, so holy friends urge, remind and sometimes carry each other on the Way of Jesus Christ. Holy friends stay together, especially in the face of unholy obstacles. On this less ventured road, character construction experiences delays and detours, but holy friends pray and are often solutions. The Lord’s highway of holiness supplies heaven’s fuel.
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted” (1 Peter 2:9-10, MSG).
Consider companions in Christ with whom you can intentionally travel through life together. Those who celebrate with you little wins along the way, beloved ones who are not perfect but who are making mostly wise decisions. Take the time to thank the Lord with holy friends for His generous blessings of health or for divine grace and strength in the face of suffering. Start a book club, or open your home as a safe place of hospitality and caring conversations. Travel together to experience new places, people, and perspectives. Holy friends help you heal from past hurt, process present pain, and look to a hopeful future as a doula to support you with the birth of the divine vision within you. They give you the courage to pursue the life Holy God has for you.
Most of all, holy friends remind each other of the Way of Holiness that brings them back to the life of Christ…how He was loved by His Father, and how He loved others. Trust in God is not trivial or a last-ditch effort after all else has failed; as holy friends, keep faith in the Lord top of your mind and close to your heart…to guard your heart against greed, ego, and pride. Love is the fruit that most often flourishes in a life of holiness set apart to love, so lonely lives outside of faith in Jesus are attracted to an authentic love that helps a confused one find clarity. Holiness loves like the Lord… unconditional and conditional…such is holy friends’ love.
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; or it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16).
Prayer
To whom can I be more intentional in developing a holy friendship?
Related Reading
Exodus 15:11; Leviticus 11:44, 20:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 John 3:3
Worship Resource
Hillsong United: Holy, Holy, Holy
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