God is calling you into relationship with him. This is what a life of holiness looks like.  

Becoming like our friends

Anna is blond, blue eyed uni student with a big smile. She is a good friend of mine. When I spend a lot of time with her, I’ve noticed that I’ve start doing the same hand gestures as she does. I start being more like her without even thinking about it. In fact we become more like the people we surround ourselves with. Just as we are becoming more like the people we surround ourselves with, so will we become more like Jesus as we spend time with him. I believe God is calling us to become more like him and discover our holy-identity in him, when he says: “Be holy, as I am holy” (1 Pt. 1:16).

Transformed through relationship

God is inviting us to be holy, as he is holy. But how does that happen? Simply by spending time with him and letting him transform our thinking and doing. Holiness is a part of our identity, but something we need to grow in and put in to practice. The way we can do that is through scripture, prayers, silence, nature, meditation and so on. Through this we get to know God’s heart, his intentions and truth. We learn to discern what holiness looks like. But to be able to do this continuously we need to create some good habits for ourselves. Sometimes that takes effort and discipline, but it is totally worth it.

I am a morning person. The minute I wake up my brain is already functioning. That’s why it works really well for me to spend time with God in the morning. I like to spend 45 minutes sitting with my freshly brewed coffee, chatting with God, reading through scripture or listening to worship. I’ve done this on a regular basis for 4 years. With no doubt I can say, it has shaped me as a person in the way I think and behave.

Come as you are

When spending time with God you can come as you are. There are no demands, no pressure or need for perfection. He who sets you free is so excited to spend time with you! And what an amazing thing it is to be able to meet God just as we are. When Moses met God in the burning bush, he hid his face and took off his sandals in the presence of God. “ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God” (Ex. 3:5 - 6). Today we don’t have to hide our faces or take off our shoes. Jesus took all our wrongdoings and failures on his shoulders and died for our sake, so that we now can stand in front of God just as we are. Isn’t that amazing?! So why not take time today, open your Bible and say “Hi God. I want to know you better…”?

 

This blog post is one out of three posts on "A Life of Holiness":

A LIFE OF HOLINESS: YOU ARE HOLY

A LIFE OF HOLINESS: GOING TO UNI WITH GOD