Holy, Holy, Holy

Have you ever thought that God was trying to tell you something? I have.

"Be holy as I am holy."

Great, God, just great. 
I am so NOT holy. 
Holy holiness! How can I be holy? 
(I can't even be halfway good most of the time, so how can I be holy?)

God is holy and I am nowhere near being like Him.
The standard of holiness is just too high for me. 
(Heavy sigh.)

I know this is from my everyday experience - my thoughts, my attitudes, my habits - so many of them are so much dross. The Holy Spirit convicts me and I beg God's forgiveness and move on with my life by grace. The Spirit whispers, "Be holy as I am holy."

I know this from the messages I hear from the pulpit and even on the radio as I am driving in to school. Last night, Pastor Schaller spoke from 2 Corinthians 6 and told us how God expects us to come out and be separate from the world. This morning I heard a preacher talking about being sanctified and conformed to Christ's image.

The biblical idea of holiness is separateness - being set apart from the uncleanness of the world unto the purity of God. Sometimes I feel like Isaiah saying, "Woe is me for I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips." And I know how how David felt when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." There are times when I feel like I should be shouting like a leper, "Unclean! Unclean!" I don't feel all that pure at those moments.

Even though God asks us to do things we cannot do, He does not ask us to be something that we can't be in Him. The things I am asked to do, but cannot, He does Himself in and through me. And the commandment to be holy is fulfilled by God giving me His own perfect, pure, holy righteousness. So even in my leprous moments, God still sees me as holy. My experience in this present evil world may not be living up to the standard of absolute holiness, but my standing in Christ does not change one iota. 

It is my desire to be holy in my experience - to be set apart from the world and its way of thinking - so that I am clean within and without, pleasing to God in thought, word, and deed, living the eternal life of God now, not just in the great hereafter.

God, I don't want to be just good. I want to be holy as you are holy, free to be in the world, but not of it. Thanks for keeping after me, for never giving up on me. You are faithful to all you have promised.

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