Holey, Wholly, Holy

I wrote this piece for our church bulletin as we concluded our theme of holiness for the year 2006...

Holiness. I remember as a young boy hearing people talk about holiness. I found it hard to understand even then. I could not wrap my little mind around the concept. Why would someone desire to be covered in holes? At the time all I knew was that mom was not very happy with me when I came home with another hole in my jeans but these folks seemed excited by such an outcome.

Of course as time passed I realized holiness had less to do with the current state of my clothing than I initially thought it did. Instead, holiness had more to do with my current standing before God. I would read the verse, “be holy as I am holy” and be left with an overwhelming sense of impossibility. Be holy like God? How could I ever be holy like God? After all, I knew what kind of person I was. I mean I was not a terrible person but I told lies and cheated. I was not always the kindest person to others around me. I did not always make the best decisions and I certainly could have been more respectful toward my parents. How could I ever obtain holiness?

Probably not until some point in college did I realize I was onto something as a bewildered five-year-old with torn jeans. It was then I came to understand that holiness had more to do with the holes in Jesus’ hands than the holes I would dig for myself because of my choices in life. It is easy to think that I have to do certain things in order to achieve holiness status, but the beautiful mystery is that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God declares us holy…his holy nation, his royal priesthood, his holy people! While I do have a part in choosing to live a holy life, ultimately it is not about the work I do but about the work God has done in Christ.

As this year comes to a close, we also conclude our theme of holiness. Although you may not have heard the term holiness week in and week out we have attempted to allow the theme of holiness permeate everything we have done. While on the one hand holiness happens in an instant because God declares us holy, it also takes place over time as we commit to lives of holiness. This year has hopefully been our own process of learning more and more about what holiness entails for those who follow Christ, and although our theme of holiness is coming to an end, our journey toward transformation continues on.

If I could leave you with one thing as we launch into a new year it would be this: “Choose to be what God has already made you!” God makes us holy, but to join him in a life of holiness we must wholly submit our lives to him and allow his Spirit to form us more and more into the image of Jesus. May you live such holy lives that all those around you might give praise and glory to your Father in heaven and when people encounter the holes in your jeans, may they only see Jesus!