26th August 2024
Be holy
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
I agree that God is holy, divine, perfect in all his ways, and above all things in his greatness God is deserving of our worship and praise. ‘God is holy’ we are told in Psalms 99:9, and in Revelation 4:8-11. In Isaiah 6:3, the angels cry, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty’. He is more than holy, he is holy, holy, holy. I have hesitation when it comes to being called holy myself. It feels unattainable as a human, as we are all fallen in our character. So, I said to myself: ‘How can this be?’ Yet God calls us to be holy, just as he is holy.
I like to draw what is called ZenTangles. I find it relaxing and stress relieving to focus on making designs that flow from my mind, and then filling the spaces with what I feel are pleasing colours. It is a form of art, but I do not consider myself the art, only the creator of the art. My character flows into the art. I possess the art as its maker, but I am not the art, and the art could not be me physically. Can I say to it ‘Be Anne as I am Anne?’ I realise though that God is not asking us to be God, but to be who he is in character, such as my art flows from my character.
As I ask myself again; ‘How can this be, how can I be holy?’ I know that I am far from perfection. I am reminded, though, of the words in Leviticus 20:7-8 “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” It is God who makes us holy! God’s teachings and directions for us from his good and perfect character, and he wants us to follow his example to be holy as he is; I need God’s help to do so.
How often we desire our children to be like us. We may want them to enter our profession, go to the same school, and have our values. We want this because we feel it is best for them. God, who is the author of all things good, wants what is best for us, but often we stray from this, just as our children do. But as we do stray, we will hear the words from Isaiah 30:21 ‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”’
How often we want a second chance to get things right. We dream and say if only I could go back in time and do it all over again. We have that second chance in Jesus Christ. ‘For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.’ (1 Peter 1:23). We are given the chance to put aside this world and its ways, put aside all the ways we got it wrong, and begin following Jesus; growing as we do in the example of his perfect life and his love for all. So, go ahead, be holy as God is holy.
Prayer
Merciful Father, how good it is to have your love and forgiveness. You are all we need. We do not need to look to this world for perfection and wholeness, because we have something much better; we have you. Thank you, God, for your determination to make us holy in character as you are holy. We have a long way to go in this, but I am assured that you will always be there to direct us in the right direction. Thank you, God! In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Anne Gillam
About the writer:
Anne Gillam is a retired Pastor in Grace Communion International, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA.
Local congregation:
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