My word says that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed because they will be filled. Do you see this only as a vigorous campaign against sin? It is more than that. Do you find that much of conversation is trivial and superficial and the presentation of an attractive façade? Don’t you hunger for something deeper, sacred companions with whom there is no desire for such a shallow level of connection? They that feared the Lord spoke often one to another and I hearkened and heard it and wrote a book of remembrance for those that feared me and thought upon my name. They shall be mine in the day that I make up my precious treasure and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Hungering for sacred companions on your journey is another form of hungering after righteousness and if you do so I will give them to you. 

My word offers you the promise of transformation into my likeness. Does this sound too good to be true? Or is it threatening? For you have a lifetime of effort to date invested in becoming who you are now. Does transformation look like abandoning that effort and starting over? If you realize this you understand the cost of following me. It is you. For I have called you to lay down your life and pick up your cross to follow me. You must release your old life to obtain new life. Do not be discouraged by this or think that your life to this point is a waste. For I have been at work in your life already all along and I will complete that good work I have begun in you. 

I told my followers that by this the world would know that they were my disciples, by the love they had for one another. Does this imply that it is less important to love those outside the faith? This relates to another encounter I had about love in which the question came up of, ‘who is my neighbor?’ I told a story about a man who was attacked. Who came to his aid? You know this as the story of the Good Samaritan. The doctrinal differences and separation of the Jews and Samaritans were central to this story. So I answered the question of who is my neighbor in the widest possible sense. So the answer to loving one another to show that you are my disciple should be answered in the widest possible sense. 

My word says that iron sharpens iron, and this passage refers to friends who interact to bring out the best in each other. The axe does not welcome the approach of the file, but otherwise the axe is dull. Different cultures have different standards for openness to correction. In yours it would be against the rules to offer correction without permission. This means that much valuable correction is not given. If you understand the value of it then you should make it clear to those you know that you welcome it. Have you ever hesitated to offer some needed advice to someone else? Don’t let social convention prevent you from taking part in this godly process. It is the only way that you will stay sharp.