Holiness is a realignment of or priorities and motives. According to John Wesley it is God's love perfected within us. It is the desire to love God above all else and our neighbor as ourselves. It is the same self-sacrificing love that Jesus Christ showed when He died on the cross to save us from (notice, I did not say "in") our sins. This is why Scripture teaches us to be like Christ. He came to emody holiness. He died so that we could also live such a life. So that we could live to serve our God. So that the greatest among us would be servants of the Almighty.
All of this brings us to a question that was asked by Leonard Ravenhill. In fact, the question was written on his tombstone. Even in death he challenges us by asking, "Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?" Every once in awhile this question will pop into my mind and haunt me for weeks. Not because I doubt that I am living for God, but because I wonder if we - as the church - are living for God. We spend hours and days and even years dealing with our thoughts (not that those are bad) and ideas while teaching holiness - a complete surrender to God.
I have no doubt that there are people who are living holy lives. I've witnessed it. Holiness, however, is a way of living. It is not a static characteristic. It is shown in the way that we interact with one another. It is shown in the things that we are "living for." How often do we get caught up in ourselves, and our ideas, and our wants and desires and forget what we are living for? Sometimes we seem to be reminded that our lives are not our own. If we are to be holy, we must be "sold out" to God. He must be the one for whom we live. I'll leave you to spend some time considering Ravenhill's question:
Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?
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DAY 873 [ One Liberty Place, Philadelphia ]
8 years ago
I am not the most devout Christian out there but I have tried to follow Gods teachings and do what I feel he calls me to do. I have always been the kind of person to do what ever is in my power to do to help someone who asks for it and in some cases doesn't ask. I have tried to be friendly and make friends withing the Church and all I get are awkward smiles and a lack of respect. The only people who have ever been genuenly friendly and trusting in my life have been Atheists who drink and do drug! How sad is it that I have found better friends in the smoke of weed than i have in the presence of God? I go out of my way to aid and serve and all it has ever gotten me is numerous disorders and syndromes, isolation, and massive debt. I am not a me me me me me person. I just don't see the you you you you you(serving God) being possible when the only direction I am headed is starving, dirty, homeless, walking around the streets of Pittsburgh twitching, mumbling to myself, and screaming repent! How does that glorify the kingdom of God? I don't ask for much but is it to much to ask for at least a sign that countless things going wrong, throwing my entire future on the line, and impending doom are leading somewhere good? That there IS a reason for this? I am NOT Jobe! I have a breaking point and it is not that far off. I cry out to God and I get NO reply. Is this how he treats those who try to live his way? I am by no means as good a christian as Papa Bruce or you are but I am trying. I do not engage in the petty things of this world. I do not drink smoke, sleep around, hate, or cheat and all I have ever gotten is a laundry list of disorders, disabilities(which I have always tried to overcome), isolation, misunderstanding, insults, persecution, sadness, and $136,000 of debt with another 60 on the way. All of this as I sit back and watch countless vulgar, alcoholic, hateful, drug addicted, lieing, cheating, atheists succeed and thrive. I know God says not to care about the material world but our bodies still need food, water, and shelter. Not only that but at one time God did recognize man should not live alone! Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Where is that moving mountain?! Now obviously I do not expect Mt Rushmore or any other mountain to pick up and set down somewhere else, but for all my attempts to do his will, the only place I have ended up are in a worse place than I was before. And its not like I started out in that great a place to begin with either. Is it really to much to ask for a sign that he has got by back for trying to follow his will and holding myself to a higher standard of morality? Could he at least tell me I am meant to be that insane homeless lonely man on the street corner of Pittsburgh who everyone stays no less than 10 feet from?
ReplyDeleteRomans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. (NLT)
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