COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR OBEDIENCE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God;
therefore be holy, because I am holy.
(Leviticus 11:45)

MEDITATION:
As a parent, you know how children can ask “Why?”
whenever you tell them to do something.
Most of the time we enjoy taking the time to explain,
because we want to teach them principles for living,
rather than creating an environment of commands and rules.

But there are those times when there is a sense of urgency
and we have no time to explain at that moment.
For instance, a child might be wandering toward a busy street.

There are also times when a child may not fully understand our rationale,
so our answer is one that simply communicates parental authority.
It is during those times that we might say, “Because I said so”.

Leviticus is a book full of laws
that the people often struggled to understand logically.
We see in the verse above that God gave them a simple command,
“Do what I say because I am the Lord”.
He is reminding them that He is above our need for explanations
and deserves our full obedience.

Does that mean He doesn’t love us?
Of course not!
As parents, we love our children, but there are times when they need
to be reminded that we are in a position of authority ordained by God.
When He says, “be holy because I am holy”, God is reminding the people
that sincere followers of the Lord should mimic His characteristics.

Unfortunately, too many people
have altered His characteristics to ‘fit’ their own desires.
They have misused the logic God has given them
as a tool for compromising their faith with sin.
When God gives us a command to “be holy”, He is not making a
suggestion, but is giving us orders that will benefit us and those around us.

We could cite many examples of ‘not being holy’,
but for an example, consider this one.
If we use profanity, are we pleasing to God?
Are we ‘being holy’ (as He has commanded)?
Are we compromising our faith to those who observe us?
A comprehensive question is,
“Why would we use profanity and claim to be a follower of Christ?”

ACTION:
Spend some time meditating on the holiness of God
by reading Psalm 47 and 111.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for not pursuing the holiness
You have commanded. Forgive me for compromising my
faith in order to please myself, or to better fit in with others,
and especially those who do not know You. Remind me that
when I appear unholy to others, I cannot be usable by You
for Your earthly ministry. Help me to realize the importance
of developing holiness in my life that will be a witness of my
faith to the unsaved.”

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