Thursday, April 7, 2011

Leviticus 19:2; 20:26 NASB

"You are to be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."

For some who have tried to read through the Bible in one year, the book of Leviticus can be one of the most tedious of all the books.  Without wanting to take away from the meaning of the details involved in the various laws described, I think this book could almost be summarized in one sentence:  "You are to be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy,".  This calling stands out like a corner stone to everything else in the book.  How different than much of what is being said today in statements like  "No one can be holy."  Perhaps because of its correlation to the word "holy", there is a similar reaction to the word "perfect", with statements like "Nobody's perfect", or "Not perfect, just forgiven."  Though there are some very honest questions about the meaning of these words, as used in Scripture, many times these statements are used simply as an excuse for poor spiritual living, as in "don't expect too much from me."  Tragically, because they have become such a part of many people's thinking and belief system, these statements tend to keep some from a higher calling and divine expectations.  The concern, of course, is the Scripture often, and straightforwardly, uses these words, therefore there is cause to wonder if God might have some expectations beyond what some would like or think. Perhaps there is more promise in them than we have dared allow.  Peter certainly must have thought so when, quoting directly out of Leviticus, he wrote, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy,;" (I Peter 1:15).  And it is interesting, as Dr. William Coker has noted, that "the word holy," as Peter used it, "with both God and man, is the very same word in the Greek language."  Could it be that the challenge for each of us is to begin to look at this as a promise rather than a problem, then maybe we will again mine its richness. And maybe, just maybe, there could be another serious soul who, like John Wesley, would challenge some of the  "thinking" and "belief systems" of our day and make a profound contribution to this poor world's low level of thinking.  Grant it O Lord!

1 comment:

  1. I really appreciated this thought and promise today. Miss you guys.

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