God Is Holy

God Is Holy

Who else among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is glorious in holiness like you—so awesome in splendor, performing such wonders? –Exodus 15:11

One day Matt brought home a piece of artwork from preschool. I can’t remember what it looked like, but I remember his bewilderment when I told him I thought it was “fine.” That wasn’t good enough. “You’re supposed to tell me it is great,” he said. Our culture says that to love a child is to tell him that he is special and unique and that everything he does is wonderful. We’re to give him the impression that our world revolves around him. And we’ve grown up expecting the same of God. We figure if he loves us he will make a fuss over us and celebrate us, only to find ourselves disappointed and disenchanted with God when we discover that we are not at the center of the universe. Instead, the holiness of God is at the center of the universe. His absolute uniqueness and perfection shines bright and beautiful.

If we are going to grow up in God, it is time we learn that God’s passion for his holiness is the supreme force and focus in the universe. We often operate under the delusion that he has ordered the universe around us. But the reality is that the world has been fashioned to display his holiness, and we were created to enjoy it. What a satisfying treasure his holiness is if we will indulge in it! “What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What joys await us inside your holy Temple” (Psalm 65:4).

God demonstrated his love for us not by making us the center of his universe, but by going the length of the Cross so that we can enjoy making him the center of our universe and the source of our joy forever. Will you put God in his rightful place—at the center of the universe, at the center of your life—and make his holiness your passion? When we allow ourselves to be consumed by a passion for God’s holiness, other passions lose their power over us. Struggles with sexual temptation lose their allure; deep-rooted bitterness, paralyzing fear, and insignificant obsessions cease to be the focus of our energy. See him for who he is—altogether holy—and usher him to the throne of your life.

Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord. As I stand in awe of your holiness, my desires to justify myself or to place demands on you diminish. I sense my growing hunger to feast on you, a growing passion to celebrate you.

DIGGING DEEPER