8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but is shall be for the redeemed: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon; they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10 and the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:8-10 (ASV)

There is a direct relationship between ‘the redeemed’ and those that are holy. This way that leads to an everlasting joy is one that requires a special pass of redemption that is demonstrated in a holy life, one that has become eternally altered by the magnitude and awesome power of the Redeemer and His amazing grace. It might be possible to jam with the fun songs, but for the sorrow and sighing to really flee away, there will have to be passage through the gate of holiness that validates any claim to the true joy and not just the appearance thereof.

To have the way paid for isn’t enough. The ticket will have to be used and the way of holiness taken before any of the legitimate gladness can become more than mere emotional bliss.

For Valentine’s day this year Kim bought some tickets to a concert for Haydn, Hayllie and me. She bought them ahead of time and they were delivered in a Fedex envelope. They were really special seats, located in great proximity to the stage and to get to the area where they were you had to pass through a restricted passage that required showing our unique tickets. We had a great time attending the concert, but as great as the experience ended up being, for us to really get to enjoy it, it was very necessary for us to do more than just get a thrill about having the tickets in that Fedex envelope. We actually had to get in our car, drive to the venue, use the tickets to gain entrance to the building and then, again, to gain entrance to our exclusive area. Each of those tickets had great potential for a very real and personal exposure to great musicians and their music, but until the necessary way was taken to comply with what it would take to arrive at our purchased seats, we could wish, demand, jump up and down, shout, and dance around a bit, but never actually get to the place where the real amazing sounds were being produced.

There is a song of the redeemed that is accompanied by heavenly musicians that have been developing in their gifts for time beyond our comprehension. As joyous and wonderful as it is for those who get to experience this song, there is a way that must be taken to arrive at its performance venue. Though the tickets have been purchased long ago and have arrived in a special package, there is much more than just possession of them that is necessary for their true value to be more than a provision. The way of holiness will have to be taken without diversion, and the use of the blood of Jesus will have to be used to access the restricted area of holiness, where the intimate experience of our Redeemer can result in a joy that rests on heads that have become free from sorrow and sighing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 1:56 am and is filed under Holiness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.