“I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44, NIV)
That God would ask us to be holy because he is holy might be as unbelievable as Justin Thomas showing up on the first tee to tell us he wants us to drive it as far as he does. Can I get a “yeah, right”?
The very concept of holiness as we find it in Scripture leads us to the great difference between God and us. The Hebrew word qodesh means “separate” or “other.” God, in his holiness, is the ultimate other.
But from the beginning, God called his people to this same characteristic. “You are to be my holy people,” he told them through Moses (Exodus 22:31). Then he went on to describe the way their lives should look different. Indeed, it may be helpful to understand that not only did God mean for our obedience to be a demonstration of faith in him but a demonstration of him to others. He stands out, and so should we.
Maybe this makes you nervous. The mark of holiness has invited some questionable descriptions through the years: holier than thou or holy rollers. What’s the value in doing good if you only get ridiculed for it?
Build your spiritual muscles right up to forsaking the worst evidences of unrighteousness in your life.Well, here’s one way of looking at it. The author John Eldredge has reflected on the things that would not be part of our lives if we took up the practice of holiness. It would be like those with body image woes (and often eating disorders) finding a healthy identity. Like the jealous no longer carrying their improper desires, the angry soothed, addicts free from addiction. In this way, Eldredge writes, holiness “would be an utter relief. An absolute utter relief.”
This is a wonderful way of looking at holiness, but it should not be altogether unfamiliar. As those forgiven, we speak freely of being cleansed of our sins by God. We know the feeling of newness that comes on the day of our salvation.
But are we willing to take another step? Commonly, those who call themselves born again are not. More than half of such believers say they don’t think God has called them to holiness. What then shall we do with Leviticus 11:44, which is reiterated in the New Testament: “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)? We cannot hide these passages from our soul’s eyes as though they don’t exist.
So, brother, be holy. So, sister, be holy. Start with the smallest sin and cast it aside. Build your spiritual muscles right up to forsaking the worst evidences of unrighteousness in your life. Don’t quit short of this. And don’t attempt it without prayer—at home or anywhere else. Trust that of all the prayers God will answer, he will answer this one: “Lord, make me like you.”
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Jeff Hopper
January 15, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.