Resemblance

Today’s Bible Reading: LEVITICUS 17:1-19:37

Leviticus 19:2 (Lev. 11:44, 20:7; Matt. 5:48; 1 Peter 1:16).

You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy 

We resemble the God we worship. What characterizes Him characterizes us. His plans give us purpose. His directives guide our direction. His requirements are our resolve. We walk after the one we worship. God is holy. He alone is Holy. All that is connected with Him is characteristically holy. Things dedicated to Him are holy. People devoted to Him are to be holy.

The word holy means “set apart”, different or separate. The original term meant “without earthiness”. We are of the earth, God is not. We are earthy, God is eternal. We are unholy. God is holy. But we are called to be holy. We are command to live holy. We are separated out by Him to be separated unto Him. Here is our resemblance to Him and here is our resolve toward Him. He has made us holy to be holy.

Yet often our earthiness excludes us from attaining practical holiness. Our sinfulness squelches our ability to be holy. Our depravity disables our access to holiness. God seeing our inability intervenes in us to produce what we can’t provide. We can’t be holy apart from Him. He must be our God before we can be like our God. He must separate us to Himself before we can be separate for Him. We must be made holy before we can be holy.

We are holy not because of what we have done, but because of what was done for us. Adam’s disobedience led to our depravity. In his sin we have become unholy and thus act unholy. By the sinless sacrifice of Jesus, we are made holy and can now act holy. His holiness makes us holy. In Him our impurity becomes pure. Through Him our uncleanliness becomes clean. The unholy becomes holy. His sacrifice secures our separation. It sets us apart from society. By Him we stand positionally holy and through Him we can live practically holy. The redeemed can resemble their Redeemer.

But it is hard to be Holy in an unholy world. We more often resemble Satan than our Savior. Although we have been made holy in Christ, we need to become holy in our Character. We must realize that God never calls us to do what He does not enable us to do. He provided a Savior to make us holy before Him (positional holiness) and He has provided His Holy Spirit to empower us to live holy through Him (practical holiness). We are made eternally holy through His son. We are being made earthly holy through His Spirit. Here is hope for our holiness. Here is a hand to help us to be holy.

Resemblance to our redeemer occurs when we reflect on the holiness of our Heavenly Father, realize that Christ made us holy in heaven and rely on the Holy Spirit to make us holy here. We are called to be holy and by the presence and power of the Spirit of God working in us we are enabled to purge our sin and perfect holiness within us.

Today praise God that what He calls us to do He gives us the capability to do. Thank Him that through Jesus we have been made holy. Rejoice that by His Spirit we can live a life of holiness. Ask Him to help you daily put off sin and put on holiness. Ask Him to help you to be holy in all you say and do. Today renew your resolve to resemble your Redeemer.