Give glory to the Lord for His name’s sake;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
(Psalm 29:2)
God is to be worshiped in “the beauty of holiness,” both the beauty of our gratitude for His holiness and the reflected glory of His holiness in our own lives. We were created to experience beauty, and the highest beauty available to us is the beauty of purity.
Unfortunately, the reputation for purity is not the best. People who strive for this are considered anxious, repressed, and slightly neurotic. Yet no matter how many unhealthy people there are in the world, such an image is an unfair caricature of a true seeker of God. If we fit the stereotype of the emotionally charged saint, we probably haven’t progressed very far on the path to true holiness. Far from being incompatible with health, holiness can be defined as wholeness and health in the broadest sense, as indicated by the etymology of the words. “old word for Holy in german language, heilig, It also means healthy. so Heilbronn Means holy-well, or healthy-well. You can’t find a better definition of what Holy In fact, it is more than healthy – completely healthy” (Thomas Carlyle).
But if the holy life is not below the ordinary level, there is also a sense that it is not above it. We don’t help ourselves by thinking of holiness as an extraordinary state, a state that most of us don’t have. Obedience is presented as a normal thing in the scriptures. It is simply the intended, normal way of human life. If something is called extraordinary then it would be sacrilege. Being holy just means that we are living a life where all the parts of our being are in their proper, normal place. Holiness is quite common because it is the “homogeneousness of the soul” (Philip Henry). And what a beautiful symmetry it is!
The human soul was created to thrive on the beauty of God. When we yearn for our God and reach out to Him, when we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to showing His goodness, we come closer to the beauty that was meant from the beginning to surround us and delight us.
“Holiness is love for its substance, humility is its apparel, the good of others is its employment, and the honor of God is its end” (Nathanel Emmons).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
