Holy, Holy, Holy

 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Revelation 4:8 (NIV)

                Yesterday, as we were bringing our worship service to a close, we sang the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” There is something about that hymn that always catches me off guard and stirs my emotions. As we sang, tears came unbidden to my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I was overwhelmed again by the enormity of that simple declaration, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Verse three of that hymn is the highlight for me. The last two stanzas of that verse say, “Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee. Perfect in power, in love, in purity.”

                Somewhere along the way, in our attempt to make our faith more user friendly, we have lost sight of the holiness, the total otherness of God. We focus on Jesus as our friend and God as our Father, and rightly so. But God is also HOLY. We should be filled with awe whenever we intentionally enter into His presence in worship. God stands alone, totally separate from sin. As the hymn states it, He is the ultimate in power, the ultimate in love, and the ultimate is purity. There is no other being that even comes close. We should be overwhelmed by the reality that this awesome, holy God allows us to even come into His presence.

                The word holy means to be set apart for special use. When the Tabernacle and the articles to be used within it were dedicated, they were set apart for that use and that use only. When the Bible tells us to be holy, as our heavenly Father is holy, it is telling us to give our lives totally to Him for His exclusive use.

                When it comes to God, the term holy takes on a slightly different meaning. It means that God is totally set apart from the world that He created. He is not tainted by the sin of the world, as we are. He is not bound by the limitations of this world, as we are. He is not dependent upon this world, as we are. Yet, through Jesus Christ, He has invaded this world and become intimately connected with it and with us. Therefore, when God “shows up” He is not affected by this world, but transforms it by His holiness. When God “shows up” in our lives, we are transformed by His holiness. We become engulfed in His glory.

                God’s holiness is a constant. It never wavers, it never is diminished. When Jesus takes over control of our lives, the holiness of God goes to work transforming us into His image. For God, holiness is a constant. For us, holiness is a process. As Paul puts it, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

                When we truly encounter the holiness of God, there are only two options. Either we are repelled by His holiness and will ultimately be consumed by it, or we will embrace His holiness and be transformed by it. The choice is ours.

                We live in a world that glorifies the unholy and mocks God’s holiness. Many people dismiss the holiness of God as a fantasy. Many ignore the holiness of God, as if it has nothing to do with their lives. Many acknowledge the holiness of God in a rudimentary way. Some embrace the holiness of God in awe and wonder. Whatever our current stance toward God’s holiness, a day is coming when everyone will encounter God’s holiness in all of its fullness. At that point there will be only one possible response.

It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:11-12 (NIV)