The first picture is of a list of rules: the ten commandments, the book of Leviticus. I am reminded of the fundamentalist church I attended as a child. There we had rules against smoking, drinking, going to the movies, rules for dating, rules that set the length of your hair, the length of your dress, who should wear pants and who shouldn’t. It is an image that reminds me of itchy clothes and sitting still. It is an image of legalism.
The second picture is of monks at prayer in a monestary somewhere in the mountains, its early in the morning before the sun rises when the fog is still clinging to the ground. I think of the Holy of Holies, a room that no one but the High Priest could enter and he but once a year. I think of Hassid’s refusing to work on the Sabbath – not even so much as flipping a light switch. It is an image dedication of being set apart for a purpose – or a person.I will grant that these images fall short of a precise definition of holiness – they are only impressions. Nevertheless, they are impressions that have built up in my mind, over the course of my discipleship. One image is heavy and discouraging; the other is mysterious and inspiring. I don’t think I need to tell you which one is which.
After reading many of the popular evangelical books on holiness, I am convinced we have an incomplete picture of Holiness. Most of these works describe holiness in terms of moral purity. It is about that, but it is about so much more. There is a bigger picture to holiness. A picture that inspires us, and gives a context and a purpose to our rules. This bigger picture, is what I would like to explore in this series.
