Needed: A Friend

"What kind of friend?" you ask.

"The kind who doesn't lean too far towards God's mercy to the neglect of reminding me of His holiness."

"Why do you need a friend like that?"

"Because FAR too often I take seriously God's mercy and forgiveness but forget His holiness. I forget that I'm plugged into the power source of the universe and that 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...' is more than a cliche. I content myself with living a weak, frustrated, discouraged life when God has given me more reasons than I can count to be holy, not just in Christ but practically holy through the outworking of the Holy Spirit. I get muddled down and I complain and I grow frustrated with myself and I forget to make war on the sins I see so clearly in my thinking. Because I tend to see myself as a victim far more than I do a perpetrator of my sins. Because I unintentionally blur the lines between making a decision and falling prey to the temptations I encounter. Because when Jesus said 'I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly...' He wasn't just talking in metaphors or cliches and He wasn't speaking to a select group of people who alone can have this so-called 'abundant life'. Because I live weakly when I could be living with strength. Because Romans tells me that 'those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life...' Because infinite joy is at my fingertips (all I have to do is give the slightest effort to grab ahold) but I so often succumb to the bitter sting of inertia and laziness."

"And how would a friend help with that?"

"They'd sometimes get in my face when I'm discouraged! Tell me to stop thinking like this and maybe, God forbid, have some faith that the gospel REALLY is my sufficiency. Give me reminders once in a while that it's NOT glorifying to God to sit around and pout about my weaknesses when God has graciously enabled me to fight against them! To call me out when I make a bad decision without realizing it! To remind me that while God is in control of my life, that is NO cause to sit back and let come what may! Remind me that God and I are partners and that He is greatly glorified when I take the reigns and take action myself!"