You Are Holy. Live Like It
And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.
“Holy” is a word that frequently gets tossed about with abandon. People regularly use the word to express excitement or sudden emotion—we’ve all heard expressions such as “holy cow!”.
Yet what does it mean to actually be “holy”?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that to be holy is to be “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness”.
In Leviticus, in the heart of Mosaic Law—God’s Law as given to the Israelites by Moses—is a simple command by God to “be holy.”
God calls us to be holy.
God calls us to be “exalted.”
God calls us to be “worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.”
God calls me to be “worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.”
Umm…..me? Perfect in goodness and righteousness?
Reality check: I am neither perfect, nor good, nor all that righteous. God obviously knows this.
Reality check: I am a sinner, not a saint. God obviously knows this as well.
Yet God calls me—calls us all—to be “holy.” God calls us all to be “worthy of complete devotion….”
Exactly how are we to do this, when we are perpetually wallowing within the corruption of sin? How can we pretend to be “worthy of complete devotion” when we are obviously anything but “perfect in goodness and righteousness”?
Yet consider for the moment the counterfactual to this argument—that we are not “worthy of complete devotion”.
Is that a message we want to tell ourselves? Is that a message we want to tell others?
Is that a message God is telling any of us?
Consider the commandment God gave the Israelites through Moses: “You shall be holy.” Consider that this is indeed a command from God.
Regardless of reality, God’s commandment to the Israelites was that they shall be holy. Regardless of reality, God’s commandment to us all is that we shall be holy.
God is setting a standard of excellence with this commandment. God is setting the expectation of how our conduct is to measure in respect to God’s Law.
God is not merely telling us to be holy, and “worthy of complete devotion”. God is telling us that we can be holy and “worthy of complete devotion.” God is telling me that I can be holy and “worthy of complete devotion.”
My reality is that I do sin…but I could do better. God expects me to do better.
My reality is that I fall short of the glory of God…but I could be better. God expects me to be better.
The commandment to be holy is not merely an edict from on high. It is an affirmation that we truly are created in God’s image.
We can be holy, because God is holy.
We can be “worthy of complete devotion”, because God is “worthy of complete devotion.”
We have it within ourselves to live up to God’s expectations. We have it within ourselves to be faithful to God’s Law. We have it within ourselves to be “perfect in goodness and righteousness.” We have all this within ourselves because we are made in God’s image.
As God is righteous, we have it within ourselves to be righteous.
As God is good, we have it within ourselves to be good.
As God is holy, we have it within ourselves to be holy.
God knows this. Even as God knows our sins and our less than perfect reality, God knows that we can do better and be better. God knows better than we do our true potential. God knows better than we do what we can do, and of what we are capable.
God does not let us off easy. God sets a high expectation, and calls us to that expectation. God stands willing to forgive us because we fall short of that expectation—but God’s forgiveness is merely a reminder that we are to keep striving to measure up to that expectation.
God does not merely want what is best for us. God demands that we want what is best for us. God demands that we set a high bar of expectation for ourselves. God commands us to expect excellence from ourselves in everything that we do. God commands us to expect excellence because God knows we are capable of excellence.
We do not need to make excuses. We do not need to rationalize our failures. God takes that off the table with His forgiveness. We need only admit our failures, repent of our mistakes, and resolve to keep striving to do better and be better.
That we made mistakes in the past does not take away our future potential. We might have been sinners yesterday, and we are definitely sinners today, but we can still be saints tomorrow.
God knows this. If we are honest with ourselves, we know it, too.
Our reality might not be perfect. My reality certainly is not perfect. Yet despite the imperfections in our reality, the expectation remain the same: to be holy. To be “worthy of complete devotion.”
God does not merely call us to be holy. God reminds that we have it within ourselves to be holy. God reminds us that our potential already is holy. God reminds us that, as He is holy, we, too, can be holy.
We just need to live like it. Right now most of us are not. RIght now certainly I am not. But I could—I could live as if I am truly holy. I could live as if I were indeed good and righteous.
God calls me to be holy. I just need to live like it.
God calls you to be holy as well. You just need to live like it.
Will you live like it? Will you dare strive to live like it?
I hope that you do. I pray that you will.