Wholly Imitating Holiness

Spirituality Column #187
June 8, 2010
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Wholly Imitating Holiness
By Bob Walters

We can never go wrong shining a light on Jesus Christ.

And the most assured way to do that is to imitate God by being holy.

How are we holy? Surprisingly, not by being sinless (we aren’t), not by being divinely loving (we fall short), not by being perfect (only God is perfect), and not by going to church, reading the Bible, shouting “Amen!” or haranguing non-believers.

Holy is a special assignment.

“Holy” can mean many different things, few of which any of us would typically apply to humans. But God (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 1 Peter 1:15-16) tells us to “be holy as I am holy.” And as we are told frequently in the Bible to “imitate” or “be imitators” of God, what can we do to carry out that assignment?

I’ve often wondered about that, and heard a pretty good answer on the radio a couple weeks ago (Today in the Word, WGNR 97.9, May 25, 2010).

We can be holy in the same way God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are holy in the Trinity by shining the light on Jesus Christ.

In theology the Trinity is called the “economy,” which refers to the working relationships within the Godhead. Jesus willingly submits to God, and the Holy Spirit willingly places all focus on Jesus Christ (John 14:26, 16:13-15).

We imitate God and obey His command “to be holy” when we imitate the Holy Spirit and put Jesus Christ center-stage. We are holy when we focus on Jesus Christ.

Naturally, believers and non-believers alike balk at putting Christ first, which means putting Christ first in everything – in our work, in our love, in our lives, in our nation, in our community, in our world, in our knowledge. In everything.

Most people have a problem putting Christ first on Sunday; heck, some have a problem putting Christ first in their church. They’d rather not mention His name. They’d rather put Jesus Christ in a convenient box of human restrictions, making it easier to focus on their (our) human desires.

It’s wrong to think, “Hey, I’m a good person. God will take care of me. Jesus isn’t a big deal.”

When God says, “Imitate Me” and “Be holy,” God is saying “Jesus Christ is a very big deal.” We’re holy to do it, and wise to believe it.

Walters (www.believerbob.blogspot.com, email rlwcom@aol.com) knows he is more unholy than holy, but appreciates the opportunity to shine a light on Jesus.