Holiness

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

If someone asked you what holiness was could you give a good answer?  I thought I could, but then something changed! Before this thing happened I would have told them holiness was going to church, saying prayers, doing good deeds, SEEING and BEING Christ to others…that’s what I thought. But then…I read something that stopped me in my holiness seeking little tracks!

Holiness is dying to self!  What? I read those words again and promptly shut the book and put it down because I didn’t like that.  I pouted about it for the rest of the day and then came back to those words later that night. I like going to mass, I like praying, I like doing sweet, thoughtful things for others, isn’t that enough?  After some feet dragging, silent temper tantrum throwing and finally a very ungraceful surrender, I realized how true those words really were. I can add and do all I want but it’s about the subtracting; the dying.

As eerie as it sounds, each prayer journal entry this week has started with the words, Lord, help me die a little more today.  No, I’m not loopy and I haven’t been sniffing the ink in the ditto machine I’m serious and it’s a lesson that’s HARD! Holiness is all about being close to Christ; so close I’m hidden in him and I can’t do that if I have my own stuff in the way.  If you’re anything like me it’s a daily objective to make things easier and more comfortable for myself.  I call it efficiency sometimes.  I say I’ve earned it sometimes.  I think its standing up for what I’m entitled to sometimes. The bottom line is this…I want what’s best for me, what’s most convenient for me, what’s easiest for me and I need to die a little because getting my way isn’t making me holy.

So how do I need to die? (That just sounds weird doesn’t it?) I need to die to my desire to be appreciated and recognized for everything.  I need to die to my desire to eat anything I want because I like it and think it’s yummy.  I need to die to my desire to be right all the time.  I need to die to my desire to make comparisons and judgments.  I need to die to my desire to tell God what I need and what he needs to take care of.  I need to die to complaining because that is the greatest form of selfishness. I need to die to my desire to offer my opinion and perspective all the time.  I need to die to impatience. And I really need to die to my desire to organize, plan and evaluate everything. All of these things minimize the amount of room God has to work in my mind and my heart.  All of these things separate me from God when what I really want is to grow in holiness. My sacrifices in dying to self in these ways are what God is inviting me to do…wanna join me and do a little dying?

A Seed To Plant:  Write down the ways you need to die to self and then get busy growing in  holiness.

Blessings on your day!
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