Holey-ness or Holiness? Wisdom for the new year.

 

                  

                               Holey-ness or holiness? 

 

  

  The dawn of this new year may inspire resolve: improvement, striving for perfection. A musician practises to perform a perfect melody that rises and falls with ease and grace. The artist stretches a fresh canvas onto his easel, sketching and adjusting his pencil outline and paint until a perfect form emerges.

   What are your goals for 2026? Increased fitness and weight loss to create the perfect body shape? Is there a significant project you desperately want to finish to the best of your ability?

   Everyone craves perfection; for some it’s a dominating passion, but for others, a distant dream. We’re fashioned in the image of God, intrinsically yearning for His nature. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, at peace with the Creator, reflecting his glory and beauty and enjoying the produce of the Garden of Eden. That perfection was destroyed when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and ever since, God has invited humanity to confess their sins, receive forgiveness and restore purity.

   In the Bible, God describes himself as holy. The further humanity drifts from God, the less they appreciate his perfection. We compare ourselves to each other to avoid God’s perception of us.

   Isaiah was an ancient Israelite prophet who entered God’s presence through a dream. He saw the Lord seated on a lofty throne, and the train of His royal robe filled the temple.

    While the Israelite nation traveled through the Sinai Desert, God gave Moses instructions to build the tabernacle. In the outer court, the priests sacrificed animals on the brazen altar to atone for sin. Aaron, the high priest, entered the Holy Place with the blood, and annually he entered the Holiest of Holies where God dwelled between the cherubim above the Ark, the mercy seat. Aaron protected himself with smoke and blood, for he could not carry his sin into God’s holy presence without retribution.

   In Isaiah’s dream, the temple, originating from the tabernacle design, dominated his thoughts. God used this to show him a glimpse of the Lord in heaven. He also saw seraphim, the angels. They covered their faces and feet to withstand God’s glory, the radiance of his matchless perfection, and they lifted their voices in praise.

                       “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

   How could Isaiah stand in God’s presence? Every hasty word he’d uttered or evil deed accused him, and his friends were no different. His flaws, the holes in his personality, stood in stark contrast to God, the King who occupied the eternal throne, and he could not hide his dismay.

 “I am ruined.”

  How often have we strived for perfection and failed? Our efforts mirror a worn garment, pierced with holes and stained with grime, and when we stand in God’s presence, we too are overwhelmed by his holiness.

   Yet, God’s love is as powerful as his holiness. A seraph flew to Isaiah with a hot coal, touching his lips to atone for his sin. Purified, Isaiah became the Lord’s messenger to his people, warning them to repent before they would be destroyed.

   In another passage of Isaiah’s prophecy, he pleaded with God. If only He would send an earthquake to remind the nations of God’s power and supremacy. As Isaiah understood holiness, he included himself among the guilty.

“All of us are unclean, and our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6.

   Have you entered the new year in despair? Do you want to kick a habit, but sense failure? Have you tried to prove your worth with good deeds, but satisfaction evades you? Your striving has failed. Your garment is full of holes, exposing your faults and failings.

   Here’s the good news! Jesus is the King who sits on the throne. John 12:39-41. He is also the sacrifice for sin and the high priest who represents us before our Holy God. His blood paid for our sins. When we enter his presence cleansed and redeemed, he dresses us in perfect robes of righteousness, and God can no longer condemn us. Have you accepted his offer of redemption?

 Are you, as a Christian, struggling with sin? God has provided an outer garment, the armour of God, to protect you from the devil’s schemes. Let’s wear the breastplate of righteousness, wielding the sword of the Spirit, God’s word. Ephesians 6.

   Isaiah went forward with a warning. God protects our feet with the gospel of peace, which we may share with the world.

  Let Jesus take off your holey garments of sin and shame. Let him wash you in the blood of the Lamb and clothe you in righteousness.

  When we compare ourselves to God, we know we have failed. The remedy is redemption, God’s heart for all humanity. If you accept his offer, 2026 will become the year when Jesus walks beside you, and the Holy Spirit lives in you, guiding you every step of your journey.

 

 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

                                                             Romans 8:1.