I.D.: Holy

Flipping through my journal, I find that every few months, I write the same thing: I'm so sick of the grime of the culture, and I need to be cleansed. The culture might seem fun sometimes, but in the end, I want holiness. I need holiness. I think we all do. Once we've seen or heard about the holiness of God, suddenly the yuck and dirt of the world doesn't seem as satisfying. Honestly, I think that's exactly how God intended it to be - we all have a God-shaped hole in our heart, and a longing for God includes a longing for his holiness. But how does that transfer to us? I was struggling with that, wanting to be holy and clean like He is, but at the same time, looking at my sin and thinking, "How the heck could this mess be considered holy?"


Hehe..well, God knew about my struggle, and He had something up His sleeve. He brought me to Hebrews 10:19-22.."And so we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean and our bodies have been washed with pure water." I love this verse, and I love that the last sentence is in past tense. Our guilty, sinful consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood. In the past. And now we're clean. It's done. 


Christ's blood is so powerful, that once it has washed over me, nothing else can touch me. Because of His blood, my identity is changed. I am no longer a sinner trying to be a saint, I am now a saint who sins. I know that sounds sort of anti-climactic, but look at it this way: before, we were stained black from the world's grime and dirt. Now, through the cleansing blood of Jesus, we wear white garments: the stains of the world may sometimes still splatter on us, but they will not stick. The Lord has given us holy robes, and they will not be permanently stained. 


So how am I made holy despite my sin and the dirt of the world? Through Jesus' blood. I do still sin, and I do sometimes get dirtied by the world, but my identity has been changed. I am no longer part of the world, I am part of the Kingdom. These present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory and holiness of what is to come!