Holiness & Humility

Holiness

30 "Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.' "

34 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. 38 Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people." -Exodus 30:30-38

A holy fragrance, Heaven's Scent. We don't do things like this anymore, and sometimes I feel we've gone to the opposite extreme. Do we really recognize God as God? Creator of the Universe? Holy? Almighty? Lord of Heaven and Earth? While the Israelites of the day went to the extreme of legalistically following the Lord and feeling they could earn their way to heaven... perhaps we've also lost what these many guidelines were intended for. A beautiful aroma that was for the Lord would serve to respect and honor and glorify God- giving Him the best of all things. It wasn't that long ago that people would wear their finest to church on Sunday. Even further back, people would keep their Bibles in very special places in the home. Now, I'm afraid that we don't recognize the holiness... the amazing nature of going to church and worshiping Him, of being able to read His word which He has give to us.


Humility

28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. -Matthew 21:28-32

Yet, we also need to recognize that whatever ways we show that God is holy and almighty and king of our hearts is not enough. Wearing your finest to church might be a way for you to remember how special this time of worship is (more special than a Saturday night date or work day or presentation). Placing your Bible in a place of importance may serve to remind you that it is more important that your comic books or DVD collection (and should be used more often). Yet, these actions are not what get us anywhere... it is the heart that matters and the actual act of going to church and worshiping God with all our heart, mind and soul, and reading His word and putting it into practice are far more important than the outward symbol of those feelings.

In the parable of the two sons, Jesus makes this clear. Can you imagine someone saying this to you on Sunday? "The prostitutes and druggies will get into heaven before you will." Well, sometimes I think... of course they were upset. Honestly now, honestly. Wouldn't you be a little upset? Those are not the people you want to be compared with. In his article "People Like Us," David Brooks comments on the lack of diversity in America... how we tend to group with people who are like us in so many ways. We need to make an effort to remember that in God's eyes... none of us are enough (Thanks Romans Bible Study team!) but Jesus is!