Seeking the Holy

God is holy. To this, I don’t think any follower of Jesus would deny. He is holy other. To this, I don’t think any Christian would deny. In fact, because of God’s holiness, we need the blood of Jesus Christ to make it possible for us to approach such a holy God. The holiness of God is what we seek, and the holiness of God is what we are called to live.

And on paper, this is all great. In practice on the other hand, do we live it?

As Protestant Christians we have an empty cross hanging in our churches, around our necks, on our cars, tattooed on our shoulders. The empty cross symbolizes our risen Savior. He is risen and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. His resurrection is our promise and comfort now. And we celebrate the fact that because of His resurrection, we can call God “Abba” which is Aramaic for father, not just that, but a familial term akin to “daddy.” Because of Jesus, God calls us friends.

And this is downright awesome.

But then we end there.

Jesus is our friend. God is our friend. The Holy Spirit? Well, we’re not sure what to do with Him all the time, even sometimes calling Him “It” for lack of a better term. The Godhead, Three in One, the Trinity, a complete relationship of love and holy and hard to explain. Yet in this perfect love and holy God came down in the form of humanity to bring us back to God. And in doing so, Jesus suffered. He suffered the wrath of God all through His life and even more so on the cross.

This last June, I spent time in California visiting family. We stopped by some of the California Missions, many still in use since their founding in the late 1700’s/early 1800’s. In the sanctuary of the missions was a sense of the holy. The sanctuary was made, painted, and colored to draw the eye to the front, behind the table for the Mass, the cross with Jesus hanging, suffering, hurting. The holy ambiance that was created made one feel different, quiet, reflective. It made one yearn for the holy. With Christ on cross, suffering, wounded, bent and contorted, it made one seek to focus, meditate, and ponder on His suffering in order to allow us entry before the most holy God.

How often as followers of Jesus do we truly seek the holy? We might sing the song about holiness being what we yearn for, but are we seeking out the holy?

To be holy is to be separate, different, not mundane, unique, and distinct. God is all of these. And He calls us to be as well. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer “hallowed by thy name” yet do we even live it out? (do we even know what “hallowed” means?) God calls us to be holy as He is holy. How can we do this?

The Godhead, Three in One, the Trinity, is the perfect image of the holy. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in perfect unity, love, and holy, working together. By the power of the Father, we are given directives to be holy. By the sacrifice of the Son we have the way paved for us to approach the most Holy God. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is true God and the Third Person of the Trinity, we have life in abundance which empowers us to live this holy.

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to move in you to live the holy God has called you to? Are you letting the Holy Spirit move in you to lead you towards the holy of God? Are you listening to the Holy Spirit speaking to you to seek the holy of God, to be in a place, quiet and still, to enter into His holy?

Take time, make time, find a quiet spot, create a quiet spot, and pray for the Holy Spirit to let you enter into the holy of God, through the suffering of Jesus who paved the way for you to enter into this holy. Let your words of seeking the holy lead you to trusting in the Holy Spirit to live in the holy presence of God.