Why I Struggle With 'Holiness'

When I hear the word 'holy' in relation to a person, I think dull, boring, judgemental, critical, holier-than-thou.  I  don't imagine I will have anything in common with them and I don't really want to get to know them.

 

When I hear the word 'holy' in relation to God, I think distant, separate, untouchable, wouldn't understand.  I picture the holiness of God as something that I would be scared to approach, for fear of my own undeniable and inherent unholiness.  Even though I know the Bible says we can approach God's throne boldly through Jesus, the idea of God's holiness still makes me feel uncomfortable.

 

But when I hear holiness like this, my thoughts change:

 

"Holiness is the most attractive quality, the most intense experience we ever get of sheer life - authentic, first-hand living, not life looked at and lived from a distance ... Holiness is a furnace that transforms the men and women who enter it.

 

Wow.

 

 

This view of holiness is interesting, beautiful, attractive, life-giving, transforming, inviting.

 

And this is what Jesus offers.  Holiness, a whole-life.  Aren't they the same thing?  Holiness is a full life, a real life, an exciting life, a transformed life.  And it is a life that is possible through Jesus.

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."

 

[John 10:10 MSG] 

 

This is the view of holiness I want. This is the kind of holiness I want in my life.

Transformed

If you are British, let me remind you of something with which we all used to be familiar.


The sun.


Pronounced as in "bun" or "done", it is a burning ball of gas around which the earth rotates and upon which all life depends.


If you live in the UK, you may well have forgotten that this exists, as it has been many months since the sun has been sighted on our island. In days gone by, we used to talk about "sunbathing" and getting a "suntan". The summer months would be spent relaxing in the garden or on the beach, reading a good book and soaking up the sun. And at the end of a long day in the sun, the more "sunned" your appearance would be.


It's the same with our relationship with God - the more time we spend with God in His presence, the more like Him we become.

"As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light."

[Matthew 17:2 NLT]

And as we spend more time in the presence of the Son - worshipping Him, reading His word and praying - we, too, will be transformed. Our faces will shine and reflect His glory.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory."

[2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV]

Whilst we don't stand much chance of getting a suntan this Summer (in Britain at least), we can always bathe in the light of the Son and be transformed into His likeness.