Ever notice
how you viewed things a certain way growing up that you look back
thinking: What was I thinking?! Need an example? We’re Puerto Rican. Every Thanksgiving, since we were kids, we had
our version of a Thanksgiving feast: a
turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and Puerto Rican rice and
beans. The embarrassing thing is,
growing up I thought everyone had Puerto Rican rice and beans for Thanksgiving. As if the natives taught the pilgrims to add
green olives, onion and capers (the foundation to Puerto Rican cuisine) into
their rice and beans during that original Thanksgiving feast. Of course I was wrong. Too bad for them. They missed out.
Thanksgiving
wasn’t the only thing I viewed wrong.
Today I’d like to talk about the holiness of God. I had some strange views on that as well…
Growing
up, I had this picture of what God’s “holiness” means. He was like that one kid in class who was
allergic to everything. You remember
that kid, right (I’m sorry if you are that kid)? He was always running from germs, dirt, and cooties: “Purel me, stat!” That’s what a holy God was like to me. Here’s the problem: I didn’t want to hang out with that kid
growing up. He was weird and with him you
couldn't have any real fun.
That’s
not the picture I have of Jesus: The Image of the invisible God
(Colossians 1:15). In scripture I see a
relational Jesus who invaded this dark, broken, sinful, compromised world. I see a Savior that hung out with sinners and
touched unclean people.
So what
is it? Is God holy or loving? Separated or close? Pushing us away or drawing us near? Running from us or pursuing us? The answer is
found in the cross. Sin separates us
from a holy God but His perfect love was on full display as Jesus hung on the
cross. This one act bridged the gap between
sinful man and a holy God. Yes, sin separates. But God is actively pursuing us. He’s done everything in His power to draw us
near.
The other
picture I had was that sin was like kryptonite to God. He was somehow weakened by the sin in my
life. Isaiah 59:1-2 gives us this
insight: Surely
the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
“Arm” in
scripture speaks of strength. God is not
at all weak but mighty to save us. His “ear”
speaks of His compassion meaning it is open to those who call upon His
name. But sin is a problem. It doesn’t drain His power. But it does offend Him so He chooses to withhold
His power. He turns away and closes His
ears to insincere prayers.
But the
Good News is: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Comments
Post a Comment