April 8, 2024, was a day most of us in the path of eclipse totality won’t soon forget. Businesses closed or were open with extra activities and services available. Schools weren’t in session. We made sure we had special glasses for viewing. We made it a big deal.
I was working that day (you can’t just shut down a CCU/Med-Surg unit). A handful of us went outside to experience this rare event. There was excitement. Some were voicing anxiety. A few seemed to be participating only out of obligation. I found myself marveling, in awe.
We can probably agree, whether we believe in God or not, that it was a pretty incredible sight to behold. The darkness felt like a thin blanket that we could curl up in. The change in temperature was noticeable. The wildlife even reacted. There was a calm and stillness in the air that seemed almost as if you could touch it.
More than a few times since that day, my thoughts have drifted specifically to the holiness of God. Each and every time I’m outside, I’m struck by the intricacy of everything surrounding us. The detail of each flower. The texture of each tree. Sounds of every bird. Smells that invoke certain feelings. Appearance of clouds. Those things and so many others combine to orchestrate this magnificent symphonic picture that should cause us to seek out God. We should want to know Him.
There’s honestly never been a moment in my life that I didn’t believe in God. However, I’ve discovered that my understanding of who God is has been the problem. Jackie Hill Perry delivers rich wisdom and insight in her 2021 release of “Holier Than Thou”. By revealing our skewed perceptions of God, she helps us to understand things like struggling with our faith, why He alone should be our reason for repentance, and why all idolatry is the result of what we believe about God.
For years I was fixated on “being better”, “doing better”, “not sinning”, etc. Those aren’t necessarily bad things. But they had me focused on the wrong thing. They were all tied to ME. My performance. My efforts. My ability. That’s a lot of ME. (And let’s be honest, one of me is more than enough.) In II Corinthians 3:18 it says we’re made into His image (we’re changed) when we “behold the glory of the Lord”.
God is NOT just a better version of us. He’s God! He’s the Creator of all things. Yet to drill down our thinking and ideas about Him, we’ve mostly compared Him to us. I’ve even written about how my dad exemplified Him. We decide we can’t trust God because “Patty Perfect Pew Sitter” told the Ladies Aid about our short-term stint in rehab (she said “we should pray”). To actually say or write a statement like that seems ludicrous. But tell me I’m wrong. If we genuinely believed that God was holy and therefore set apart, it should and would cause us to see everything in a much different light.
In order for us to be changed (in order for ME to be changed), we must first see God for who He is. I think for the last 40 years I was quick to say that Jesus was my Savior. I truly believed it; never doubted. And while we obviously need a Savior, we also have to mature to the point that He’s LORD. This will require change. As we begin to fix our eyes on Him and find ourselves undone by His holiness and wrecked by His love, we can’t help but be changed. Those around us should notice a difference. Encountering THE HOLY GOD will only result in change. It’s impossible to stay the same.
The short series that I recently wrote was a 30,000-foot view of my life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it was mostly a mess with an occasional appearance of joy. I was tired. The pretending was exhausting. I had been looking for fulfillment in things instead of the God who is set apart and made me in His image.
It’s my opinion that our casual attitude toward the holiness of God is possibly our greatest challenge right now. It’s the culprit for why many don’t acknowledge any real moral truth. If God is just a better version of us, why should we follow Him?
I remember countless people who I’ve thought acted “holier than thou”. No one likes to be around those people. I pray I’m never viewed as one of them. But I certainly want a God who is. That’s a God I can wholeheartedly trust. He can’t be anything contrary to His nature. And that means I don’t have to fear.
The heavens and all the earth declare the glory of God. Thank you, God, for using the eclipse to continue drawing us to You.
II Corinthians 3:18 ~ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.