God is Holy. And according to 2 Timothy 1:9, 12, “For it is He Who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness, to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness… I am positively persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed to Him until that day…”
What is holiness? It’s not being “super spiritual” but rather “to be set apart for a special purpose.”
I don’t know exactly but I’m starting to think following Jesus isn’t so much about getting everything right but trusting Jesus in the midst of everything. And it’s not even that we “get it wrong” I just think sometimes we mis-interpret how the Lord wants to work in our lives. There are some “christian” beliefs that have permeated my thought life and belief systems in the past and maybe they have yours too. Something along the lines of “I thought I was supposed to volunteer for this…. but then they said no,” therefore the reasoning goes that the volunteering nor heart for service was wrong or not there at all, why would that be the assumption? Is that more what our flesh of sense and reason is comfortable with? Are we willing to be told that other “spiritual” people don’t approve of us but still follow what the still small voice speaks to us in the quiet places of our hearts? Are we willing to quiet our minds and hearts enough from the striving and acceptance and security of this world and busyness to be willing to listen to His voice? Maybe His voice will purify our desires and maybe we’ll make decisions in relationships or jobs and opportunities that other people don’t agree with, but we’re learning to love God and learning to love people, so why the over-spiritualizing? Or maybe it’s relationships, and that reasoning can go many ways, but if a romantic relationship ends in friendship but there was growth through the relationship, why would we question the validity of the relationship? Again, aren’t we learning to love God, open ourselves to God, trust Him and in turn truly love and truly trust others? He definitely wants to work beautiful pieces together with rough pieces but through it all, His love and goodness should shine through, but I think sometimes we might miss it because we have a misconstrued understanding of His goodness and His purposes. I don’t think that this means we say and do everything that comes to mind and everything that we “desire,” that would be in error for sure. Oh boy! If I did everything that I desired we’d all be in a heap o’ trouble! But if I’m quiet and I listen, and humbly submit my desires to the Lord, I might find that He’s the one who put certain desires in us, and the process of living out everything He has for us is more natural from intimacy with Him than simple formulaic reasoning or religious exercises.
Maybe to as we more trust that God really is at work in us, that as believers in Christ Jesus that He really lives inside of us and that possibly we can begin to step out in faith in decisions, jobs, volunteer opportunities, relationships, etc… that we don’t already know all the answers to but that maybe we feel an urging towards. As we learn to abide in Jesus and His love for us and allow His love to wave as a banner over our lives, I believe we will enjoy the ups and downs of life a bit more, as they all lead us to truly experiencing the grace of Christ.
much love | all the best | may you enjoy jesus and all those he has surrounded you with today, right now… may we learn to love well, wholly and beautifully