Catching the Vision
Isaiah 6(NRSV) 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
I have always been drawn to Isaiah’s description of God. He is not just holy, but holy times three! He does not occupy a small place in a small room, but His presence fills the Temple. And Isaiah, when confronted by a holy God, comes face to face with his sin. He has the only response imaginable—he accepts salvation and follows God.
But as I read Isaiah’s description of the holiness of God, I wonder how many understand the importance of holiness. And, I wonder how we in the 21st century can catch the vision of holiness.
Holiness is not discussed much in today’s world, nor is it a much sought after quality. What is holiness? Simply put, holiness is being set apart. Jesus’ example taught us that while we live in this world, we are not to become a part of this world. The last prayer Jesus prayed over His disciples was this: John 17(NRSV) 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
Yet, the lines between holiness and worldliness seem to have blurred. How do we recapture the vision? Allow me to remind you that sin entered the world through disobedience. What caused Eve to give in to the temptation of sin? Eve lingered in the vicinity of the tree with the forbidden fruit. She could have chosen to bypass the tree, but the more that she saw the fruit was good, the stronger her urge was to consume the fruit.
What if we made the decision to seek after holiness by lingering in the presence of God? What if we, the Church, committed to being intentional in following and living like the Christ? What if we neither gave in to the allure of sin, nor rejoiced in pronouncing judgment over those who do so, but instead we sought after a holy God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength?
There is a vision that each one of us can catch. It is a vision of the most high God exemplifying holiness and inviting us to come along, to linger in His presence, to be set apart.
Psalm 27(NRSV) 4 One thing I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.
In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Seeking Holiness 