You want me to be holy?

What does it look like when you live a holy life?

As one who is entrusted with the spiritual care of others, I can give you lots of answers and no answer at all.  It looks like prayer and compassion towards others.  It looks like acts of worship and praise.  It looks like embracing God's words and the Word of God in Jesus, seeking deeper understanding.  It looks like offering all of yourself, your time and talents and the hardest of all, your money to God's work in this world.  It looks like forgiveness and reconciliation with a neighbor or relative.

And yet, if you manage to do all those things and have not love in your heart, it is not a holy life.

Holy is a word that describes God.  When an action or object or person is dedicated to the work and worship and praise of God, they are described as 'holy'.  But these things and acts and people are not perfect; perfect holiness lies only in God.

Without God reaching out to creation we would not know holiness and we certainly would not be able to live a life in anyway pleasing to God.  We can't build a ladder and climb our way into God's presence and thus know who and what God are like.

However, out of great love for all that God created, God took on human flesh in Jesus and stepped into our world so we might know God, see God, be taught and transformed by God.....and in the end, so we might trust that the Creator God rules heaven and earth and welcomes all into full and abundant life.

A full and abundant life is not just a personal possession; it is a relationship.  When we are in relationship with God, we seek life for the entire cosmos.  We only experience full life when all experience true life.

Our journey into a relationship with Jesus means a journey into a life that seeks life for all of God's creation.  There are markers along the way, markers called compassion, prayer, generosity, justice, reconciliation, care of neighbor.  Our eyes are firmly set on Jesus, and although we will fail at every turn, we never turn our eyes away.  We seek to walk the path that leads to God, a path that Jesus showed us.

That is a holy life.  Ups and downs.  Good days and bad days.  Confession and forgiveness.  Bread and wine.  Prayer and serving others.  All done in the name of Jesus.  All done imperfectly.  All in a desire to bring life to our neighbors....all done while watching for God to reveal Godself and listening for the Spirit to guide our ways.

A holy life is not a destination.  It is a relationship with the holiest one of all, the great mystery of life.