Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Holiness?

Monday Night Thoughtball over at Faith or Fiction? focused on whether there was anything along your path to God that, at first glance, you just couldn't wrap your brain around? Did you ever get it resolved? Well, I've pondered that thought ever since and have been thinking about the holiness of God.

Now, think about Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning..." There was no history, nothing...nada...zilch...zero...except God. So before the world began there was nothing. Have you ever tried to wrap your mind around nothing? Where is nothing? It doesn't exist because if nothing existed then it would be something and not nothing. Does that make any sense to you? How do you think about nothing? You can't because as soon as you try to think, it becomes something. And, something isn't nothing.

Now apply this to God and creation. God created the world out of nothing. Creation involved bringing into existence everything that is. At one point there was nothing and then God spoke and there was something. How? God called the universe into being. Can you imagine His voice? Here is the voice of God which can bring something out of nothing. He can bring life out of death. All of this by the sound of His voice.

The act of creation is the first event in our history. I'm well aware that there are many people who choose not to believe the biblical account of creation. Maybe they prefer to believe in chance. But, doesn't that seem preposterous to you? What are the chances that the universe was created by chance?

Look at Genesis 1:1 again. "In the beginning God..." He alone is eternal, He alone has power over life and death. By the power of His command He can call worlds into being. Isn't that power staggering to you? It is to me! God created the world by the sheer power of His voice. That humbles me, makes me feel no larger than a gnat, if that big. Does that make you want to know Him? To know His majesty, His power, His holiness?

Dealing with God's holiness is foundational to our Christian walk, I believe. It is basic to our understanding of who God is and of Christianity. God's name is holy (Luke 1:49). As you walk down the street in today's society you might not realize it is holy. It seems like it gets trampled upon all too often. People certainly don't show respect for His name. There doesn't seem to be too much honor, nor reverance and what about awe? Think about this...His name which has all the power is the one abused. You don't hear someone walking down the street mad saying, "Oh, Allah!" No, there isn't any power to that name. There isn't a need to destroy that name.

How we understand the person and character of God the Father affects every aspect of our lives. His holy character has something to say about every aspect of my life and yours...financial, politics, romance, business, athletics. Everything!

God is inescapable. There isn't any place to hide from Him. It isn't that He penetrates every aspect of our lives but He penetrates it in His majestic holiness. We can't avoid it. We can't worship, we can't be obedient nor grow in our spiritual walk without it. God has declared, "Be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44).

I'm going to leave you with a question...When you think of God as holy, what comes to your mind?

11 comments:

Melissa said...

A youth pastor once said instead of asking What would Jesus do? ask Is it Holy?...I think our scope of holiness has been deminished by the day in time with which we live...when you asked what I think of when I think of God being holy...The essence of what is...a God that seeks out devotion, but also demands it by His very presence...He doesn't need us at all to be God, but He wants us, and in that we serve a holy God...do I really get that. If I never did another thing for Him or quit serving Him all together, if I quit believing it would not change who He is...but despit that He seeks me out with an ongoing passion...Holiness is more than being silent before God, it is realizing that God is far more than what our feeble minds can obtain, and realizing that the Creation of the Universe is personal and majestic, and wild, and unfettered,, and HOLY!

Pilot Mom said...

Melissa, I LIKE that youth pastor! :)

How true, God doesn't need us. He just desires a relationship with us. It's mind boggling, isn't it?

When I really look at His holiness I realize just how wicked and sinful I am! I think about Isaiah seeing God seated on His throne...

Bob and Claire said...

Yes, Isaiah was what immediately came to my mind as well.

Joe said...

When I was 8 years old, I used to sit in the hallway and try to think of nothing.

the more I tried to think of nothing, the more things I though about!

God's holiness is rooted in His omnicience, omnipotence and omnipresence.

I can't really grasp it, though.

jettybetty said...

When I think of God's holiness--I think of pure white--no blemish--no impurity--no mistakes.

I think of Isaiah's encounter with God's holiness in Isaiah 6 also--and believe when we encounter God holiness, our lives are changed--not because of rules, but because of Who God is. Because He is holy, I desire to be holy, too.

Anonymous said...

If I sit and contemplate (try to) God's holiness, my head spins. :) I simply cannot fathom that concept.

All the words used in the above comments are words I would use, but even at that, they are unworthy.

IMO said...

I'll have to agree with Gayla. I just cannot picture it--it certainly is nothing like me or anything we have ever seen. But you are right, when I get overwhelmed with this and that, I go back to the beginning: God created the heavens and the earth and that is enough for me.

~Jennifer said...

God is holy. He defines Holy, and he is the definition of holy. Holy means "like God" and "set apart". So, God, being holy, is set apart from the rest of us, but he invites us to be holy too. I don't think I'll every really understand what holiness is, not this side of heaven, that is.

Anonymous said...

all knowing, all powerful, the holy Spirit. That's what I think of. I really get hung up if I try and think about the "beginning" as you were talking about in the first part of your post. That causes my mind to go into overload, and I have to shut it out. I'm too deep. I ask too many questions. I need to back off, and enjoy the simplicity that is Jesus Love.

by the way, thanks for visiting my blog and sharing about your son<:-}

Pilot Mom said...

Welcome, Susie! I'm glad you dropped in. I hope you come often and leave refreshed! I like that: "enjoy the simplicity that is Jesus."

Teresa! It's so good to hear from you! Thanks for commenting and I hope you signed my Frapper Map. :)

Susie, you too...please sign my Frapper Map on my side bar. :)

Like Betty and Bob & Claire I think Isaiah comes to our mind because he truly recognized Who God was and who he, himself, truly was.

Jennifer, I agree, this side of heaven we won't ever fully comprehend. It's too big for our minds to grasp.

Gayla, it isn't often we are left speechless, is it? :)

HeyJules said...

I keep trying to put my thoughts into words here and I can't get it to come together and make sense. You've stumped me! I defer to the answer I emailed you yesterday. : )