HOLINESS

Today's reading: Leviticus 22-24

"Warn all the priests to follow these instructions carefully; otherwise they will be subject to punishment and die for violating them. I am the Lord who makes them holy." Leviticus 22:9 NLT

After giving them rule after rule, instruction after instruction, command after command, God reminds his people that it's not all about the checklist.

It's not all about the doing.

It's not all about the completing of tasks.

It's all about the reason they are doing it all--to honor the God who makes them holy.

Rules don't make us holy, they make us obedient.

Instructions don't make us holy, they make us compliant.

Commands don't make us holy, they make us dutiful.

It's the WHY we do WHAT we do because of WHO asks us to do it that makes the difference.

Following God's instructions carefully shows Him that our deepest desire is to please Him, honor Him and trust Him that His ways are best. 

Our best attempts at any Christian discipline cannot make us holy. Look good, maybe. Appear righteous, possibly. But holy--that's an attribute only God can bestow upon us!