Good Morning Friends,
Today we are contemplating the process of sanctification inaugurated and presided over by the Holy Spirit in our lives so we might have life and have it in abundance. The problem, as least one of them, is that sometimes people storm into the events in their lives, insisting that others should live up to the pattern offered by Jesus. And certainly, the called-out assembly of believers need to be justified and, on the way, to being more like Jesus each day. Unfortunately, sometimes people expect everyone to walk on water right after baptism and that does not happen. People who call themselves Christian rock the boat, but that even serves a purpose for in so doing they force society and especially religious communities to remember the importance of sanctification for both individuals and groups. So, when we face the faith, filth and fluttering of the human heart we need to realize that our progressive attainment of a likeness to the character of God and to God’s intention for us takes time but also a change of attitude. Too few understand the dramatic picture of the relationship between spiritual authority and genuine humility that prompts us to think differently. Of course, there are some things beyond our control. What is clear is that without God we cannot become holy. The challenge is to embody holiness, for God’s will for us in this regard has practical moral implications beyond traditions and laws. So, What Characteristics That Make God Holy Can We Emulate?
Scripture: Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
Matthew 14:22-36 (NRSV)
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ “Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 15:1-14 (NRSV)
Message: Every branch of society has its own traditions about what it takes to be holy some good, some bad, and some inconsequential. It does not matter whether it is the pomp and ceremony of monarchy, or the ritual of a fraternity. Some traditions are helpful, and some indifferent. But some also become outdated and run counter to their original intention. It is evident from the Gospel, that this was what had happened with the traditions that the scribes and Pharisees had built up around God-given scripture. The traditions were probably started with good intention but ended often as a set of rules and regulations impossible for ordinary people to keep. This in turn served to confirm the supposed superiority of those who taught them. In today’s scripture, the Scribes and Pharisees brought accusations to Jesus concerning His disciples. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy in a way that helps us to understand that what is required to be holy in not mere lip-service, but a worship from the heart. In the pursuit of holiness, we can hedge ourselves in with so many rules and regulations that we become imprisoned rather than liberated. We are to beware of unwritten presumptions that are made even within Christian communities. We need to live by the Word of God rather than by the traditions of men. The key to holiness is the heart of love and with that a be happy attitude.
So we are not pure and we are not God. But certainly, we are to emulate Jesus and his compassion, servant leadership, loving and forgiving. But how do we do this? The storms of life seem to overtake us, even when we are trying to be obedient. Such is life. Such is the Christian life. You see we are not called to a life of ease, but one that is full of dangers and pitfalls – only we have the assurance that God is with us to see us through. We have to come to terms about this and yes even be joyful about it. When God draws near amid the storms of our life, we do not always recognize the Divine. We, like the disciples in that little ship, are troubled and fearful. We are humbled but hopefully still with some sense of joy and peace. For when God draws near in our trouble there is also peace. He brings justice too but more often a word of good cheer, and that vanquishes fear and teaches us about holiness. Friends, people do not understand what holiness is about. And that is one of the reasons it is not popular. People have misconception of holiness. Many still equate holiness with rules and restrictions. But living holy is not so much about the sins of commission and omission as those of the disposition. Here is the root of what forms behavior. Holiness is the character of God. It is the nature and love of God. And we attain a sense of it when we are content. Jesus was the perfect example of holiness. He was holy because he was ruled by love in all things. Every thought, word, and deed he ever did was motivated by love. Every act of His life was a contribution to the glory of God. Even the miracles He performed were not so much to prove His own deity, but out of a love and compassion for humanity. What constitutes true holiness is this love in us.
And So, the catchy phrase, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” is rarely thought of as a directive or guide for sanctification because it is more associated with a drug induced high than a spiritual one. But if one adds God into the equation related to our happiness it makes sense. God delights in His Holiness in a way that is a prompt for our happiness and blessings to glorify God. Happiness here is beyond having a pleasant experience in life, it is the part of being Holy that is a catalyst for the successful emulation of other Godly characteristics. Happiness may even be the essence of Holiness if we are happy in choosing God above all else. The superior satisfaction is the love found in being happy. In many ways being perfectly happy is to be perfectly holy. The relationship is intertwined with us being joyful in Jesus. This is a prelude to the miracle of love. It could be argued that the best way to glorify God is to be happy and rejoice in all things. God’s holiness in us then sees God as infinitely valuable and trustworthy. Seeing and savoring the infinitely value of God is esteeming Jesus. This enables us to love God and others in a way that makes us happy and spills over into the lives of others. We are to interact in a way that multiplies acts of love that glorify God. The fight is to choose God above all else and by choosing a superior life, experience holiness. To put sanctification in its place, if we desire God above all else, then we are going to be joyous about life.
When we are joyous about life, we can better glorify God. It starts when God shares holiness with us, and we accept it and begin to see that we too are to strive for the perfection of God’s vison for us. This is simply not possible for those who are unholy. The world doesn’t need more role models, it needs more of Jesus—the ultimate role model. People will not find a better person to emulate positive character traits from than Jesus Christ himself.
Pray we realize that it is Jesus who makes things holy not us. Pray
we express the unselfish joy of Jesus in our hearts. Pray we express the peace of right relationships. Pray we express patience as a sign of our access to Jesus’ holy life. Pray we express gentleness as a witness to love. Pray we express goodness because God is good. Pray we animate the lives of others because our faith expresses a love of hope that believes. Pray we walk in the Spirit of contentment. Pray we never lose control of our temper but with temperance manifest the true holiness of love. Friends, Jesus is the healer of all humankind because he loves us in our afflictions and in our souls and that is the miracle of sanctification.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 