God continually tells His people to be holy. I understand
that in the sense of moral holiness, that to be holy I must live according to
the ways described in the Bible. However, when I think of the holiness of God,
which is above and beyond anything I am or any of His people can be, then I
wonder if this is even possible.
God is awesome, mysterious, beyond my ability to describe.
I know His holiness in my mind and just a little, but enough to fill me with
awe. Is that the kind of holiness He wants for His people? And if it is, when
He says ‘be holy’ what am I supposed to do? Tozer points to this passage and it
reveals two important truths:
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12–13)
First, for God to establish (strengthen, confirm, make
more firm) holiness in me, I need to increase and abound in love for others.
The love He wants is not emotional attachment. Rather, it is a decision, a
choice to bless and care for others the way He does. This choice puts eternal
well-being over temporary comfort without neglecting temporary comfort. That alone
is a challenge! Because only God knows how that works in the life of each
person, I need to be totally connected to Him, listening to and obeying His
guidance. It means aligning myself to the Word of God in humble and sacrificial
obedience.
This kind of love is not about winning God’s approval or
gaining salvation. That is already mine in Christ Jesus. That is, by grace
through faith I am saved. However, just as a newly enlisted soldier must learn
how to perform like a soldier, I also must learn how to live in the holiness
and righteousness into which God has enlisted me. I am declared perfect in
Christ, but He must establish me according to what He has declared to be true
of me.
The second thing from these verses is when it will be
complete — at the coming of the Lord Jesus. When Jesus returns, I will see Him
as He is — and be like Him, holy and complete.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2–3)
How would I behave for a summer if my father promised me a
pony at the end of August? How would I live if promised a full reward at the
end of my life? Some might squander the time, maybe because they did not
believe the promise. Some might work hard as if they thought they must earn the
reward. God’s promise is not like that. He wants me to purify myself, to love
others, to strive for holiness, but in the end, these things will be true of me
because of what He has done!
^^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, as I think about these things, the awareness of
Your great ‘otherness’ — and the beauty of Your holiness draws me closer to
You, desiring to be like You, longing to see Your face. This is Your doing, and
these are Your promises (not the pony part 😊) and I am in awe of
You once again!
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