In our last visit I shared a summary of my reflections on what I know about Jesus Christ and how He relates to us. Let me unpack those thoughts and share with you how they impact my life.
The first statement was: He is uncompromising in his holiness and unchanging in His love.
If there is one attribute true about the nature of God it is absolute holiness. Why do I add the word absolute to holiness? Our perception of holiness is flawed. We think of it as cleaner than anything else. But if you put what we might consider to be clean under a microscope we would be surprised at the dirt particles still there.
John says in 1st John 1:5, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Habakkuk said, “O Lord…my Holy One…Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:12-13). Hebrews 4:15 declares that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Paul described Jesus as “Him who had no sin” (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
This one, whose holiness is in stark contrast to our sinfulness, nevertheless loves us. You can almost sense the tension when feeling hesitant to come before this holy one, while at the same time feeling drawn to him by his overtures of love. Love found a way to embrace you in spite of the wide gulf between His holiness and your sinfulness.
Paul put it this way: “Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (1st Corinthians 5:20-21). Take some time to absorb this truth in your mind and heart.