Tuesday, May 31: Leviticus 20- Holy & wholly.

After another set of laws comes off Moses’ quill, the chapter ends with an overarching sentence. Verse 26: You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

My first thought was that our call to be holy is a call to be wholly (i.e. 100%) the Lord’s.

God’s call and aspiration for us as His people is to be holy (wholly) His, no inclusions or other religious mix-ins allowed. No divided allegiances or even going it our own way. We are to be totally given over to following the Lord. And while no one lives up to this completely, which is why God had given the various sacrifices to atone for lapse, the call is absolute. You shall have no other gods before me or alongside of me, directs the Lord. You are to be holy to me.

And holiness means we have been set apart and the laws God has given define God’s set-apart-ness. Sexual morals, how the community treats its parents (elders), the kinds of sacrifices it is allowed to offer (no child sacrifice of Molech), etc. define the people of God.

Today, as people of the New Covenant, we, too, are to be holy (wholly) to the Lord and the law we are to follow is the law to love one another… to love as God has loved us and to love our neighbor as we would love ourselves.

Love is to be the hallmark of the Christ-follower, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).

How will I live out God’s love in me to others today? I don’t exactly know, I do not know what situations will arise, but I know love should affect my words, actions, thoughts, demeanor, and activities. Love is to be wholly encompassing, a tall order and, yet, it is God’s call for my life as his child.

Oh, God, may I be up to the challenge of living holy (wholly) unto You today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

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