Sunday, July 14, 2013

On the Balance Between Relevance and Holiness

As one who used to highly encourage the importance of being relevant in order to reach people with the message of Jesus, over time I have walked away from that emphasis.  Why?  While on the surface it may seem to be a more useful on-ramp into the Kingdom to be relevant to the lost people of this world, this perspective too often lacks something desperately needed in our world:  more people of G-d living in holiness.  You might say, “Those ‘holiness people’ are not able to relate to the rest of the world and live in their own religious bubble.”  But is being “holy” the same as being religious? To be holy means to be “other than” or “set apart”.  So how are we to be in this world but not of this world?  How are we to be set apart without living in a “religious bubble”?  How can we know whether we are being holy or religious?

I want to suggest that the evidence for living a life of holiness is the demonstration of the power of G-d in your life.  Being religious does not necessarily lead to the manifest presence of G-d in our lives.  Walking in holiness leads to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Think of that miraculous healing you experienced or witnessed.  Think of the time when that man of G-d spoke into your life as if he knew the deep things of your heart.  We have the opportunity to be used by G-d to be a vessel for the outpouring of His Spirit to others.  To bring more people into His Kingdom we need more people of G-d living “holiness” that is demonstrated through the power of the Holy Spirit.     

Where is the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?  Where is the power of the Holy Spirit in my life?  May we all be called to a higher standard of holiness so that our Father will deem us worthy to demonstrate through us His Kingdom on the earth as it is in Heaven.


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