Being Holy

A friend of mine was sharing with me the other day the meaning of the word ‘holy’ and its opposite: ordinary. So holy means out of the ordinary, something special, something set apart for best – like the dinner service which is kept in the cupboard for special occasions. Mount Sinai was just another mountain like all the others round it until God chose it and set it apart, making it holy, or special (Exodus 19:11-12). The burning bush which Moses saw in the desert, (Exodus 3:2) was only an ordinary bush, until God chose it, and called it and the ground around it holy.

When I was a little girl I was sent to Sunday School, wearing my Sunday best dress, one that was only used for special occasions, and everybody else in church was also dressed for the occasion. The day itself was special too, set apart from all the other days. The shops were closed and it was a time for families to be together and relax: the day was special, set apart, holy. Obviously it was a day which had originally been set apart to worship God, (the Sabbath), though many people in post-War Britain were already losing their faith, and so the pressure built for the laws to change. And gradually Sunday has become a day like any other, ordinary, in fact.

When God called us, and however much it seemed that we were seeking Him, He put the desire to seek Him in our hearts, He set us apart and called us to be different, special, not ordinary, holy. As we receive Jesus we come under a new regime; we change from being in the ordinary realm to being in the holy realm of God. We become holy people. We may not feel very holy at times, but thankfully our holiness doesn’t depend on us, but on Jesus, whose shed blood on the cross cleanses us and makes us holy.

As we draw closer to Him and come to know Him deeper in our hearts there is a natural desire to become more like Him. We have the enormous privilege of being called to be ‘holy people’ – people set apart for God’s glory. I know that there may be some reading this who don’t feel special because of the things that have happened to them in the past, but please receive this truth: you are so precious to your heavenly Father that He has chosen you and set you apart because He sees you as special and unique. Holy, in fact!

Strong>Prayer: Dearest Father, I’m amazed that You see me as special and precious. I don’t feel it at times, but I understand that You have set me apart to be holy. May the light of the Lord Jesus shine through me in such a way that others will see Him in me, and be drawn to Him too. In His precious name, I ask it. Amen.