Although our marriage had never been in serious trouble, there were many areas that needed healing. We became more open and honest with each other than ever, and we asked each other's forgiveness for our many failures.

We repented, and God revived our marriage in a beautiful way. Many hurts were healed, and we experienced a freshness in our love. We committed ourselves to grow in the knowledge of God's holiness. As we have done that, God has kept us honest with each other. We have journeyed down the highway of holiness, and God has continually purified us. That journey will not be complete until we behold Jesus face to face. Then we shall be perfected. We shall be as He is.

One of the purposes of revival is to keep our feet on the highway of holiness until we reach our destination. Holiness is process of being conformed unto the image of Jesus. Revival hastens and provides the power for that process to continue.

That process not only affects the individual Christian, but also affects our relationships with other believers. It is startling to recognize that all true believers are on the same journey. None of us has arrived or will arrive until that glorious day when we see Jesus. This realization should cause us to love the brothers and sisters in Christ in a new way.

This truth was made real to me on one of my trips into Romania, where communications pose a great problem. Messages must be smuggled in and out, and when a person is in the country, he must be careful when, what, where, and with whom he speaks. Many informers cooperate with the secret police. There is a great deal of room for miscommunication.

One of the leading pastors in Romania had been offended because of incorrect information that he'd received about me. The information was not intentionally given incorrectly, but after passing through several ears, it reached him quite twisted. He responded by saying some things that offended me.

I was scheduled to preach and evangelistic campaign in his church, and I was very apprehensive. I arrived just a few minutes before the services were to begin, so we did not have time to correct our problem. When I preached he served as my interpreter, but there was very little of the convicting poser of the Holy Spirit.

After the services, we decided we must reconcile our relationship. We stayed late into the evening talking and praying about our differences. We met again early the next morning. Again we prayed and talked until everything was clarified and reconciled.

That evening, with the same preacher and interpreter, the Holy Spirit moved mightily. By the end of the week more than 200 were converted to Christ. The Holy Spirit could be released only when our relationship was made right. As God's people travel on the highway of holiness, we will ultimately change our society. We will stand for social justice and righteousness. The Welsh revival from 1902 to 1905 changed the moral climate of that nation. Charles Finney preached against slavery in America. The message of revival will always call for moral and social change.

This is one reason God has used Billy Graham in such a mighty way. When many white evangelical churches had their doors closed to black people, the Billy Graham crusades were open to all. He stood for truth and righteousness before it was popular to do so. Had he not taken this stand, other nations would never have opened to him; they would not have respected him.

It's at this point that the evangelical church must repent. We have been so afraid of the "social gospel" that we have not always stood for social justice and righteousness. On the highway of holiness, we get to know more of the character of the Creator. As we grow in our love for Him, we learn to appreciate the beauty and dignity of all of His creation. That's why the Christian church must lift a loud voice against abortion and racism. And we must stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Eastern Europe in their struggle to worship freely.

However, as we stand for social righteousness, we must never allow ourselves to be manipulated by political groups. Political parties are not traveling the highway of holiness. It doesn't matter whether they are Communist or capitalist, liberal or conservative.

The basic reason the revived church must be careful at this point is that change must be wrought through spiritual means rather than force. For instance, the whole character of the television and movie industry would change if the Western church experienced revival. This would happen not by the electoral process, but because millions of hearts would be changed. Our appetites would be for the good and holy rather than the violent and sensuous.

Many of us would like to force repentance on society, but repentance is a change of heart. Therefore, we must preach, pray, and live out our repentance first. As we change, there is hope of society. And if society never changes, we will continue to stand for truth and righteousness. Force was not the way of Christ. The highway of holiness can be traveled only by those who choose to travel it.