Blog #28 Holiness - Like God

Blog #25 Holiness - Like God My definition of holiness comes from Isaiah 6: 3. Holy Holy Holy is the God of Hosts. God alone is holy in the truest sense of the word. For me the word holy sums up and contains within itself all that God is. In our limited minds we speak of God's power wisdom goodness and all the other qualities we see in God. But the word holy contains them all. Like your name, Fred or Mary,contains all there is to say about you, your age, hobbies, size and weight, so the word holy says for us of God all there is to say of God. In this sense God alone is holy since here is only one God. In a secondary sense we speak of other perons and things as holy, as for example a church which is dedicated to God and symblizes for those who believe God's presence. A book is holy like the Bible which speaks of God and comes from God. What is the meaning of holiness when applied to persons? For me, when applied to persons, to be holy means first of all the be like God. And in this sense, to grow in holiness means to become more and more like God. I haven't heard many people talking like this and I sometimes wonder just how many of us are actually trying to grow in holiness, trying to be more and more like God. When was the last time you can recall doing something or doing something in a particular way precisely and explicitly so that you would grow in holiness, become more like God? Perhaps it was the time you mopped the kitchen or cut the lawn. I have done those things just to grow in holiness, to be more like God, and found them quite effective for the purpose. God teaches us very clerly in the very first book of the Bible that He made the entire universe, and all of cretion is good. In our care for it we are indeed holy or like to God. We could miss so many opportunities for growing in holiness if we saw the opportunities as limited to prayer and Bible study or going to church. Yet it seems many people do just that, almost living two lives in the process, the life of church, Bible study and prayer, and the life of the world, business, indusry, recreation. Since we believe that God is eveywhere we must believe that God can be found everywhere, praised everywhere, and imitated everywhere. It is the will of God that we grow in holiness. (1 Thes 4: 3) May the Lord bless our desires and efforts to do so with success, for His glory, the good of those around us, and for our own sanctification!