"Be Holy"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.'” There you have it. The mandate for the Christian life. God is holy; therefore go ye and do likewise. Even Jesus said, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” You must be perfect. Get out there and do it.

At least that that is the way much of “churchianity” casts the Christian life. God is perfect, and He requires you to be also. Maybe we can start with the joys of the grace that awakens you to Him and to His kingdom, but then you better make the right choice between death and life, good and evil.

If you are going to be perfect, you need to spend more time in devotions. You need to spend more time in quiet meditation, opening yourself up to hearing the still, small voice of God in your heart. You need to get out there and do the work of the kingdom. You need to have a well-ordered house, well-groomed and well-behaved children, and a well-tempered husband. You need to attend a Spirit-filled church and receive a spiritual good feeling from your worship experience. You need to keep growing and improving, and you need to stop sinning, or at least cut down as much as you can. Because if you are not improving, you are backsliding, and maybe you do not have enough faith, or you do not love Jesus hard enough, or something.

That You May Be Sons of Your Father

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” The world seems to operate this way much of the time. The scales of justice balance themselves. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Tit for tat, toe to toe. If someone hurts you, hurt him back. If someone takes from you, take what is his. Round and round, over and over, the cycle keeps on going. Small children are expert at this sort of thinking. Just watch boys on a playground. If one slights another, he hits his opponent, who returns the punch, and pretty soon they are going blow-for-blow. And girls are no different, except maybe in their methods.

As adults, we are often not much different. We don't like to be slighted. We don't want to feel belittled or offended or put down or put out. We don't want to be insulted or abused or taken advantage of. We would rather put up walls of defense against those who hate us. We would rather cling tightly to what we have than risk losing something in service to our neighbor. We would rather lash out that take the lashes.