Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


10.21.2003  

Separated

A little Hebrew lesson is in order here. The root for the Hebrew word for holy is "qad", which means "to cut, separate." What's the significance of this? Just this: I've often mistaken the idea of holiness as being clean, being pure. But this just isn't the case, especially when it comes to looking at God's holiness. In a sense, it's like we're dealing with apples and oranges here. If humans were all oranges, then you could think of us as all being sinful oranges. But no matter how unsinful we become, we're still oranges. God, on the other hand, is not only pure and free from sin, but He's an apple...*not* an orange in the least. I know, I know, some of you are shaking your heads and going, "bible college finally cracked you, John!" You probably wouldn't be very far off in your assessment ;)



In all seriousness, though, the whole idea of God being entirely *different* from us struck me pretty hard today in our Theology I class with Dean Johnson. Think about it...striving for holiness isn't something where we have a goal to become "more" or "less" than what we are; we must truly become *changed* in our very nature on our journey toward holiness! That thought is both encouraging and humbling.



The theme of the past couple of weeks has been simple: to God be the glory. The living out of that is what can be complicated and difficult. The pressures of exams, quizzes, book reviews, ministry, work, financial needs, deadlines, and missed deadlines all pull at you to take your focus away from what's most important. In all honesty, I've often wondered if enjoying and seeking God has even been on "the list" for me. *Sigh*...my eyes are burning from a lack of sleep, my smiles are becoming farther and fewer between as I wonder more and more if this paycheck will be enough or if that scholarship will finally come through, and the demands of school and ministry bring me near to tears.



Yet in the midst of this, God has been ever so gracious...breathtakingly so. I remember telling Monica at the beginning of the semester that if God really wants me here, He'll find a way to keep me here. At times, I've doubted that. It can get pretty dark and desperate, but it's in those times that finding Him once more becomes all the sweeter. *Sigh*...this semester won't get any easier, I can almost guarantee that. But you know what? I've slowly become reconciled to the notion that God wants me to realize more of His grace; if I must know the pains of desperation in order to know the surpassing beauty of His grace, so be it!

posted by Bolo | 10:43 PM
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