Living 4 Him

Holiness is living out the Jesus Christ within you.  Corrie Ten Boom

Jesus begins the 7th chapter of Matthew with a strong commandment: “Do not judge.”  An attitude of believing we are better than someone else is false thinking, but Jesus has the answer. He suggests that instead of focusing on the speck in someone else’s eyes, we are to remove the wooden plank lodged in our own eyes. 

As I formed an image in my mind and contemplated the motivation behind Jesus’ words, I realized that to remove a log from our eyes would involve a choice, a choice to live out the best version of ourselves, patterned after God who is holy.  To remove the plank from our eyes is the first step to holiness.

The Hebrew word for “holy” means “set apart for a specific purpose.”   God himself is holy, set apart in his sacredness and all he creates carries a part of his holiness.  Removing judgments, beliefs and ideas that conflict with God’s design shows a desire to be holy as God is holy, dedicated to helping him fulfill every God-given purpose on earth.

Throughout the verses in Matthew 7, Jesus’ words show actions that lead us to holiness. 

“Ask and it will be given to you.  Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7

Each action, ask, seek, knock, moves us toward a relationship with God, setting our hearts on his highest aspirations for us.  One of God’s purposes is to dwell in relationship with us as his holy children.  When we ask, seek or knock, we help to complete that relationship.

“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12

Also known as The Golden Rule, this action is again one of God’s highest goals for us, to treat others with the same respect and love that we desire of others.  Holy living begins with seeing others as God sees them, worthy of love and respect, then choosing to love them as we wished to be loved.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.”  Matthew 7:13

This image reminds us to not be distracted by the temptations and evils of the world, but to walk a path of holiness with pure motives, gentle responses and genuine care for ourselves and others.  A willing heart wishes to stay on God’s path.

Jesus also teaches us to look for good fruit, holy fruit that produces God’s purposes.  I have a feeling that this good fruit can only be recognized by taking the plank out of our eyes. 

When we take the log out of our eyes, it is amazing what we notice.  We recently took a camping trip, our last camping trip with our dog who passed away 2 weeks later.  Our dog, aging and tired, slept outdoors mostly, but still loved his daily brushings.  Pulling his thick fur out of the brush, I tossed it into the wind each day, hoping that a bird or other animal would find a use for it.  Imagine my joy one morning as a small sparrow pecked around our camp picking up bits of dog fur and flying away.  At that moment, I realized that even dog fur is holy, needed for a specific purpose, and God uses all of his creatures to display his glory.

Desiring holiness leads to receiving holiness.  Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7: 11 that God loves to give his children good gifts.  Elisabeth Elliot penned beautiful words to illustrate the benefits of our holy relationship with God:

If with courage and joy we pour ourselves out for God and for others for his sake, it is not possible to lose anything worth keeping.  We will lose ourselves and our selfishness.  We will gain everything worth having. 

Reaching in (allowing God’s word to work in our souls): Spend time reading Matthew 7: 1-23.  Focus on words or phrases that are set apart from the norms of this world.

Reaching out (taking God’s word into our world): 

A Prayer of Holiness

God of the Heavens, Thank you for creating me.  Thank you for creating the beautiful holy purposes you have for me.  Lift me above the noise and distractions of this world to focus my heart on your purposes.  May I share love, seeing others as you see them.  May I spread the joy of your kingdom, sharing peace and goodness on my way.  May I gain everything worth having.  In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.