Holiness

“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” Leviticus 20:26

“And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

Our church is reading through the bible in a year. I have attempted this in the past, but have never been able to accomplish it. Even so, I have found so many amazing things in scripture. Even if I fell short on the timeline, it’s more than worth attempting it again and again. One of these things I bear in mind as I’m reading is to listen when God repeatedly says something, which brings me to holiness.

Just when we were reading in Leviticus about bodily discharges and oh-so-much blood, the Lord states in chapter 19, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Later on in chapter 20, verse 26, He repeats, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” In the new testament, Peter references this command and reminds believers in 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” In Leviticus 20:7, the Lord says “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy for I am the Lord your God.” God is repeatedly issuing this command while emphasizing his relationship and connection with his children.

What’s your impression of holiness? Do you struggle feeling that way? I do. Something about attaining this high standard of inner and outer purity seems impossible on this side of heaven. There is something mysterious about it. I mean, what business do sinners have “being holy”? But yet, God repeatedly says “be holy.” God, truly perfect in every way, calls us, imperfect sinners, to be holy. If I am being honest, I confuse holiness with my own screwed up version of perfectionism. And you know how that ends up: I almost always fall short.

So how do we do this seemingly impossible thing? I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I think we need to realize where holiness comes from. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”  In Leviticus 22, God reassures his children twice that it is the “Lord who sanctifies.” I don’t have to live in fear thinking it all depends on me because it is the Lord who does his sanctifying work. Hallelujah! But does that mean I stop trying? No! God calls us to pursue and identify with holiness. To put it on every day, just like when we put on our wedding ring or some other valued article of clothing. But we do it in relationship with Him.

“And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am smart. It sounds silly, I know. But so much of my day-to-day circumstances seems to make me doubt. Perimenopausal brain fog…it’s a real thing! Sleep deprivation…learning challenges. But then I think back to a time when I was praised for anything that required intelligence…anything. What does that do? It gives me strength and encouragement to keep trying. Sometimes, I feel this way about outward appearance. I don’t feel beautiful when I am changing poopy diapers or am covered in spit-up or bending to the ground cleaning up leftover spaghetti that my 2-year-old insists belongs on the ground (agh!!!), but when I think about the time when my husband stared at me in a way that seemed to say “you’re breathtaking,” I felt different. I think sometimes we have to remember we are holy, set apart for sacred use, and consecrated for a purpose. Life has a way of reminding you of your shortcomings, but when we focus on the price Jesus paid for our redemption, we remember how special we are in the Lord’s eyes. Because of that, we are set aside for a special purpose. Not to be removed from the world, but to shine His light in the world.

It’s interesting to me that in Exodus 40 when the Israelites were called by God to “anoint the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrate it…so that it may become holy”, that being holy is a choice. A choice a Holy God calls his imperfect children to make.

In the new testament, Paul also states that holiness could influence unbelievers.

“For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:14. Wow!

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

So holiness enables people to see the Lord. What an incredible thing!

We become what we behold. We keep our eyes on Jesus in the pursuit of  holiness, not on ourselves. “And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Jackie Hill Perry states in her book Holier Than Thou “We have supposed that the way to help people be holy is to just tell them to “stop sinning,” when in fact, lasting transformation is a spiritual consequence of “beholding the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). That’s why we’re here: to behold. To set our sights on a higher love. To see who Adam hid from, who the psalmist sang to, who the prophets spoke for, who the disciples with, and who Jesus made known.”

It is comforting to remember that it is the Lord who completes the work of sanctification. That every day until we reach heaven, we are being sanctified by the Lord who is perfect and beautiful in every way, inside and out. There is no darkness in the Lord (1 John 1:5). He is perfectly faithful, He cannot sin against us, and He loves us with a kind of love we cannot even comprehend.

I’ve heard it said before, there are no perfect Christians. I feel that. All have fallen short of the glory of God. Yet, God has called very imperfect people to be holy, to behold Him. As a result, we can have confidence to put on holiness every day.