Holiness Revisited

The moment you begin to drift off course and fall into the casual assumption that God isn't paying attention and isn't too concerned with how you are doing things, you must look squarely at the Lord's response to Nadab and Abihu.  The instantaneous reaction to their relaxed approach to manning the Temple is something to shake loose your cool self-assurance.   We speak ferociously of the grace and mercy of God but the Lord did not ponder long in His reaction to those two .    Aaron dared not even stammer a protest at the destruction of his older sons because he recognized Who was present.  Later when the Lord struck Miriam with leprosy for grumbling about Moses, Aaron witnessed once more the profound  violence with which God handles rebellion.   We may be glib about many things in life but we must not be so with regard to God.  He remains  a raging fire even if we see Jesus as meek and mild. (See Hebrews 12:28)  It may take years to erect a superstructure but in only a matter of moments the entire building can collapse in a heap.  God might be patient with you and you could mistake it for indifference but that might be a disastrous determination.  You are in play because the Lord wants you where you are with whom He has you at the time you are there.  Veer off without consideration for the Lord and His interest in you and the wreckage could be terrible.  The severe cost at which God has redeemed you should stop you dead in your tracks.  The sending of Jesus Christ to face what He did, the Son, the Beloved, informs you of just how seriously the Lord takes this matter of what you do and how you do it.  The wretched death of Christ defines the cost at which God lets you go about your business however you do so.  Each decision you make, every casual turn you consider is marked by the bloody crucifixion.  Does God care if you act in faith or disregard His Word?  Ask Mary Magdalene who watched Christ die.  Ask His mother Mary who cringed at the blood dripping from His brow.  Ask John who stood gaping with horror as Jesus  groaned in agony.  If it is true, that Jesus Christ would have done as He did on the blood-thirsty hill if there was only one sinner on earth needing His life...you…, then perhaps you should reassess how seriously you take your actions day in and day out.   Holiness has largely been laid to rest in our age of forgetfulness but the Lord certainly never forgot the value and importance of holiness nor did the women who stood at the foot of the Cross.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."   1 Peter 1:15 NIV