Mar 15 - God is Holy

Read Revelation 4:5-11

Context: In his revelation from God, John is just approaching the throne to see what will take place in the future.

Text:
5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being." (NIV)

Footnotes:
Revelation 4:5 Or the sevenfold Spirit
taken from www.biblegateway.com

As a society, and even as a church, I'm not sure we really comprehend the concept of God's holiness. To be holy is to be morally and ethically perfect -- something that we as humans cannot attain. God is the only truly holy one; in fact, the word that is translated as 'holy' is also often translated as 'godly.' The two concepts are inseparable.

When Moses met God for the first time, he was told to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. We talk about having a relationship with Christ/God in our daily lives. Moses is one of the few people who have had a face-to-face relationship with him. In our relationship, we tend to think of God as a close friend, a confidant, a buddy. Yet we see in Moses' relationship there was an intense reverence, a godly fear, an appreciation for God's holy nature. They conversed, they argued, they planned together, but Moses never forgot whom he was talking with and he always knew whom was in charge.

I am thankful that we can have the type of relationship with God that is comfortable, that we can talk with him without fear of being struck dead. But I'm concerned that we lose the sense of his holiness, and that we don't revere him enough. Today, really think about what it means to us that God is holy, and let's not lose our sense of awe over who he really is!