Holiness

If we are serious about having a closer walk with Jesus, there is one thing that needs to be the radiant centre of our lives: holiness. Holiness is what characterizes us as the people of God as different from the world and from other Christians.

We can all relate to Paul’s battle in Romans 7 where he shares his frustrations: “for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…I can will what is right but I cannot do it…oh wretched (wo)man that I am!” Many Christians will tell you that it is normal and even good to struggle with the fleshly and divine natures, but I am here to say we challenge ourselves. How should we as Christians in pursuit of holiness respond to this very real battle? Why are we struggling in the first place? What is there to be done about it?

First, let us define holiness. Holiness is not trying to have our lives picture perfect and it is not an escape from suffering, as the popular spirituality in our culture would have us believe. It is also not a place where we will never have temptation or failure. I have grown quite weary of ‘facebook christianity’ consisting of bible verses with perfectly placed fonts and Instagram-able gospel shots. These, while helpful for an infant Christian, will not suffice if you are serious about holiness. Holiness is “becoming participants of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). It’s stream is grace. It’s tides are love and gratitude.

The most exciting thing of all is that you, Christian, are a participant—not a by stander, a student, or a fan—a participant. What is the nature of a participant? They are involved in action; they are powerful! Earlier in 2 Peter we read that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things his precious and very great promises so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world and become participants in the divine nature. For this reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness (holiness).” 2 Peter 1: 3-5

How do we do that? You may be wondering. It would be quite natural for me to hand you a “5 step guide to Holiness” list of my own making, but this, my friends, is futile. The only way we can be holy is to live out of our identity in Jesus. When we see holiness as an identity to live out of instead of something we do, the struggle diminishes greatly. Jesus declared you holy when he died on the cross. There He defeated sin and death, once, for all time. Jesus’ death (and resurrection) was a historical act that changed the direction of humankind forever.

Live out of the identity God already gave you! You are holy. You are righteous. You are the Beloved of God. “The Beloved” is an identity that author Henri Nouwen describes in his book A Spirituality of Living, as “a voice that speaks to the centre of our being and permeates our whole life. Who am I? I am the beloved. …It is the essential attitude that creates in us the freedom to love other people not because they will love us back but because we are so loved and out of the abundance of that love we want to give”. This is where holiness starts: in understanding that I am the Beloved. I am holy and righteous.

God is already at work in me.

Now that we have an identity to help us understand holiness, what comes next? Here is a question that Nouwen poses that I have found helpful for my own journey: Is there space in our lives where the spirit of God has the chance of getting our attention?

If we are not creating this space, we will likely miss all the ways God wants to renew our lives. Another part of being a participant of the divine is to take responsibility for our holiness. One way we can create space and take responsibility is by adopting some of the spiritual disciplines. There are many, but here I will mention two that have been particularly helpful for me.

First, In Brother Lawrence’s book Practicing the Presence of God he encourages his readers to talk to God constantly through out the day. The belief that the conversation with God ends after we say “amen” is erroneous. Don’t limit God to ‘prayer time’ He is so much bigger than that! He is excited to hear from you! Brother Lawrence also points out that “the more we aspire to be perfect, the more dependant we are on the grace of God…and learning to be dependant will bring us great rest” (p.59). This a great struggle for our need to be in control. To be completely dependant on another being grates against our do it by yourself culture. I encourage you to join me on the adventure of living in complete dependence on God. If rest is what you are looking for, you will find rest there, in the centre of God.

Second, one of my favourite spiritual disciplines is called Lectio Divina. This is an Ignatian practice in which one will meditate on a particular passage of scripture and then listen while you ask God what he wants to speak to you that day. Ruth Haley Barton describes it this way:

“Lectio Divina is a posture of approach and a means of encounter with a text that allows the text to become a place of transforming encounter with God.” (Invitation to a Journey, p. 129). This is the order of the exercise: 1.Take time to be silent 2. Read the passage 3. Mediate on what you’ve read 4. Pray, asking God to show you what you need to learn from this passage and listening. 5. Respond to God contemplatively. Allow yourself to become the word of God, allow God to give you visions of yourself in the story, draw your attention to particular words or phrases, and reading again with a listening heart. 6. Respond to God (in action, make this experience real for your life.)

This process has allowed me to find God when he seems to be hiding and find rest when I am weary. It has been a great encouragement to my faith journey and shows me how I can become more like Jesus, which is the simplest form of holiness. I encourage you to find a friend or mentor who already knows how to do this, or do it as group for your first time. If you are unfamiliar with ‘hearing’ God I recommend Brad Jersak’s book Can you Hear Me? Tuning into the God Who Speaks.

Please know that while God speaks first and foremost through scripture, there are many other ways people hear from God. These include pictures in your mind, dreams, songs, words, encouraging words from other people, mystical encounters, communion with nature, and any other exciting way God chooses to reveal himself to you. There will be Christians who tell you this is dangerous. This is the most exciting thing that has happened to my spiritual life! It is not something to be afraid of. It is my opinion that these people have not experienced God the way He intends for us to experience him, and they are missing out. Beware of them and learn how to discern spirits properly by seeking the counsel of a pastoral figure who is well practiced in spiritual disciplines and experiences. Lectio Divina is one more way that we can live out our identity of being ‘the beloved.’

I encourage you as you seek after God to make holiness the river that flows through your heart, your soul, and mind. Let the identity of being holy bring rest, love, grace, and gratitude to your life and the lives of everyone around you. Holiness is how God’s kingdom comes!