God in a Box

     Todays post is happening in the midst off extensive boot research for boots which I can't afford right now and bnb rentals for my honeymoon, part of the reason why I cannot afford said boots. My fiancé and I have finally set a date! We get married in October and there's still so much to do and think about and pay for. Money isn't too much of an issue because all the parents are willing to pitch in, my fiancé has a really good job, and I save as much as I can, it's just more money than I've ever spent and it adds up so quickly. I never knew the world was so expensive! I know I've been talking about money a lot lately, I'm sure it's as tedious for you as it is for me, but I guess this is an exercise of faith for me. Marriage is something I believe is worth investing in, therefore, the celebration of a wedding is important and I'm excited for it. It's the first day of a bright future and I'm just going to have to ignore the cries of my bank account and work as diligently as I can to make the most out of this opportunity and investment.

    To continue our conversation about holiness as best as I can, I feel that I ought to talk a bit more about what holiness is. To be holy means to be set apart. God is holy because He is transcendent and morally pure (I talked about this very briefly in my first post this year, His Glory Alone). We're made in His image, not the other way around. He created all things, is everywhere all the time and outside of time too. He's than we could ever comprehend or define. I think that's why Holy is the best word for Him; it's all-encompassing. God is. That's how He introduces Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you should tell the people of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to rescue you.'" He is love. He is just. He is good. He is merciful. He is unmoving. He is. He is so many things to so many people. He is those things because He is holy, not because holiness is just another attribute in a long list. And because of that, His attributes such as love and justice are never in conflict. We're deserving of judgement but it isn't bestowed on us without love. His wrath doesn't mean that His kindness has ceased. God isn't made up of attributes, He simply is God and He is holy. It's essential to who He is and it's in everything He does and He will never cease to be holy.

    Last week, I talked a lot about the brokenness of mankind because that is our reality and that is how we perceive God. We want God to be unrighteous because then He would be like us and there would be no need for God's justice. We would be abstained of the guilt and reality of our sin because God wouldn't be blameless in order to enact said judgement. That is the opposite of who God is. He's morally pure, He can't sin. Asking Him to be someone He's not is asking Him to be equal to Satan, the one who tempted us into sin in the first place. He's holy in His righteousness, exalted in justice (Isaiah 5:16). And it's not like we don't have to opportunity to be better. All that was instructed of Adam and Eve was don't eat the fruit of one tree in a garden of so many. They did and now our nature is to be disobedient. In the Old Testament, God gave so many laws to the Israelites, good laws that reflected His holiness and would bring honor to Him. Our humanity is stronger than our will to obey. Immediate endorphins are far more desirable than having patience, even if we know what we're waiting for is better. Jackie Hill Perry writes this: "As expected of God, then, judgement must come down on the heads of those with a hesitant "yes, Lord. His righteousness will not allow the guilty to go unpunished. Scary, to fall into the hands of the living God, until we believe in the One who did so in our place Holier Than Thou, chapter one)." 

    Thankfully, God is holy and that mean that He is also loving and kind. He paid the debt we had collected and are given an opportunity to walk away from our sin. A sinless Son died on a cross and was judged on behalf of sinful people so that God's justice of the guilty doesn't compromise His righteousness. The Holy Spirit was given to sanctify us, helping us to be more like Him, setting us apart, guiding us so that we can be holy again. 

    God is holy to the utmost, unwavering and great. It's intrinsic to who He is and we cannot change that, which is probably a good thing. I'm glad that God is who He is, not who I think Him to be or who my neighbors or coworkers or family believe Him to be. God is set apart. He is unique, different to everything that exists. He has always been alive and always will be. He's self-existent. He only needs Himself to be and that will never change. Surprise! God doesn't actually need us. He's the only being that is truly and utterly complete. This is transcendence. Everything wonderful we have ever known cannot compare to the beauty and stature of God. God is committed to honor His name yet humble enough to die. He uses His power for good, to show His love above His justice without belittling the latter. This is who God is, who He was, and who He will continue to be. He's someone deserving of our worship and adoration and also our apologies. 

    It's a privilege to be able to serve Him in the first place and I hope that one day I am worthy of such an honor. I hope to do right by my Creator because of who He is, not because of the attributes shown to me. I don't want my faith to be dependent on my definition of God's goodness or love or justice. Isaiah 55:8-9 says this, "My intentions are not always yours, and I do not go about things as you do. My thoughts and My ways are above and beyond you, just as heaven is far from your reach here on earth." I want to give God space to be holy, to be who He already is, because that is better than any box I could fashion to put Him in. Honestly, this is still such a big concept to me and definitely a lot to tackle in a blog every week but I hope it's helpful!

Yours truly,

Rey