A Holy Life

Leviticus 19:1

The Lord said to Moses, Say to the whole community of the Israelites: You must be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 19:18

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Has your morning prayer ever started like this: "Lord, today make me more holy." Probably not. I know that is not how I start my prayers. Unfortunately we often equate holy living with the phrase "holier than thou" an attitude where one sees themselves as better, more righteous than others. Holier than thou people look at others with a condescending attitude. Who would want to pray to be like that?

When we turn to chapter 19 of Leviticus we find a totally different concept of living a holy life. It is one of the most important chapters in all of the Old Testament. It is a call for the people to be Holy because the Lord is Holy. This means a prayer to be Holy is a prayer to be more God like in our thoughts and actions. Now that is something we all strive for. But what does a holy life really look like? Chapter 19 goes on to give practical illustrations. Contained within the chapter is much of what we know as the Ten Commandments, with an emphasis on holy living in trying to live out those laws. Being Holy because God is holy in this context means caring for the poor, living with integrity towards all, and not taking advantage of those who are vulnerable, among other things.

The summary of this whole section on holiness is "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The best measure of how we are doing in living a holy life is by looking at how we treat our neighbors. For Christians this takes on even greater importance because when Jesus was asked what law of Moses was most important he said, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself." Matthew 22:38 & 39. Jesus again emphasizes that love of God and living a holy life is seen and lived out in community.

So what does it mean for us to be Holy today?

To be Holy is to roll up our sleeves and join whatever God is doing in the world. Leviticus gives us examples. To be holy is to care about and for the poor and vulnerable. What can you do this day, this month for the "least of these?" To be Holy is to love your neighbor. How can we show hospitality to the stranger, to be willing to forgive and all the rest that this challenge contains? To be Holy is to be a person demanding justice for all. Where have we stayed silent in the face of injustice?

Being Holy is hard work! Loving like this is hard work! There are so many excuses we want to give for why that person or those people are not meant to be neighbors that we have to love. But we know when Jesus was asked who is my neighbor he told the story of the Good Samaritan showing that a neighbor is everyone, even people we might despise.

We can't do this alone. But God is with us. God is Holy and wants us to be holy so God will give us the strength to live a holy life in the world. It isn't easy, we will likely fail, but we will also find forgiveness and the encouragement to try again.

So this month where we celebrate love I am starting my day praying "Lord make me Holy as you are Holy." Perhaps you will pick up that challenge as well.

Prayer

Loving God who calls us to be a Holy People help us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Give us the eyes to see where there are needs, a voice to speak up when there is injustice and a willing heart when action is needed. Forgive us when we fail but continue to encourage us to love everyone we meet. AMEN

This devotional was written by Bill Green and read by Cliff McCartney.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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