JEHOVAH-MEKADESH
Leviticus 20:7-8
We hardly talk about holiness these days. Yet God commands Israel to be holy – frequently. And holiness is not confined to passages in the Old Testament. Apostle Peter quotes Lev. 11:44 as he calls his readers to a radical lifestyle that is fitting for their calling. He tells them; “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour; because it is written “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
The LORD is holy, He is separate. “Jehovah, He is God, there is none else beside Him (Deut. 4:35), “There is none holy as Jehovah for there is none beside you” (1 Sam. 2:2). The only way we can have that relationship with him that He desires is to be holy as He is holy. A holy God demands a holy people. The people He has chosen (the church) must also be separate from evil and be separated to the purposes for which He chose them. The first demand is that we serve no other gods but Jehovah for people become like the gods they serve. We are to be apart, that is, we must refuse to be sucked into the corruption around us. Being set apart makes us the best instrument for God’s purpose. But even in the best of circumstances and surroundings, we fail. We realise that apart from God, there is no hope of redemption and holiness. And there lays the hope of holiness. Rather than give up and say, “I can never be holy”, we need to trust and hope in God. He is holy and as part of His holiness He has prepared a plan wherein we can be holy.
Will you be perfectly holy? No you will not! Does it mean you bounce in and out of holiness? No! The LORD wants you to be like the woman who anointed Him in Mk. 14:8 – “Leave her alone, she has done what she could.” The LORD wants you and me to do what we can. Consider Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:11 and Peter’s exhortation in 2 Pet. 1:5-7.
These are characteristics of holiness that we are to pursue with diligence. Do we really get there – perfectly? No. But we never stop trying. And when we fail, we humbly approach our Holy Father and ask Him to forgive us and help us toward more holiness. Holiness is not just an act to be accomplished once for all but a process and the power to be holy has been placed within us at redemption.
PRAYER: O Lord, as I surrender to you; help me to do whatever I can to move on to perfection in Jesus name
