This is the will of God, your sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
R.C. Sproul gives us a simple way to remember the definition of holiness:
The first prayer I learned as a child was the simple table grace: God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for this food. The two virtues assigned to God in this prayer, greatness and goodness, may be captured by the one biblical word – holy.
God is great and he is good. To believe that God is great is to recognise that he is the creator of the world and above all things in heaven and on earth. This should generate in us an attitude of humility. We are so small and insignificant compared to the greatness of God and yet he stoops down to make us great (Psalm 18:35). He sent his son to die in our place because he loves us.
It is possible to forget or even doubt the greatness of God when you have lived through the past 10 years of Zimbabwean history. To believe that he is above all things can lead us down a path of questioning why he has allowed such suffering and injustice in our nation. These are all important issues to explore, but always in an attitude of humility where we acknowledge that Gods ways are higher that our ways and there are things we will never fully understand.
Is your God good?
Can you say that God is good? This is a truth that is not based on circumstance or experience. In the midst of pain and persecution we are called to believe that God is good and that he is faithful to hear our cry and strengthen us. Believing that God is good is fundamental to our walk as Christians. If we dont, it will be impossible to trust him and walk in intimate communion with him.
If your belief that God is good is conditional then it will not overcome the storms of life. We will suffer, we will experience difficulties, we will be stretched beyond what we imagined we could endure and it is essential that we choose to believe in Gods goodness. For us, when something is good, it is benefitting us and enjoyable. This is not the true and complex understanding of goodness when used to describe God. His goodness is unchangeable and just as true when things are difficult as it is when they are easy.
What does it mean then to be holy as he is holy? The first step is to redefine greatness and goodness. We must understand these terms in a way that inspires us to worship our creator as the name above all names. Once we begin to approach God in humility, he will reveal his true and holy nature.
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