Holiness and Love: are they mutually exclusive?

Holiness at its very foundational concept is the abhorrence of sin, hating even the smell and the slightest sign of it; it is the separation of oneself from such and holding ourselves apart from it with the fear of God, and all humility.

God is holy. Previous generations have worked hard to dispel the hideous lie that this holiness equates to God being like unmerciful schoolmaster waiting to punish us. Yet in so doing, things have swung too far and our generation has somehow lost the understanding that God is an exacting judge of fearsome majesty and righteousness who will not budge from His standards one iota. And yet again, it would be a mistake to stop there: God is not uni-dimensional. He is not love or holy; He is both.

He nudges our hearts and pulls on our conscience to turn us from sin; if we reject that, He may change circumstances to wake us up and give us time and opportunity to turn and repent. However, if we refuse and insist on our own way, there will come a day when we must give account for all our works, thoughts and attitudes. If there is no such day, God would not be a just judge. Families of victims of crime cry for justice. God hears them and will make sure there is justice - but He has no favourites. The same standards apply to all, including the very ones who cry for justice.

On that day, we will realise that we had no excuse; we were given opportunities, He was good to warn us time and again - but we were blind or wilfully rejected those opportunities. Then each must pay for their own folly, each idle word, each wayward thought.

However, we are not at that day yet - unless your name has been called (how will you know when your name will be called?). Today there is still time to do something about those things that will visit us with regret and shame: we can call on God's love and mercy.

See, God is so loving and merciful that He is willing to overlook our sin if we are willing to own up, ask for forgiveness and commit to turning 180 degrees away from that sin: He will wipe the books and pronounce us completely blameless. He doesn't stop there either - He will pour out His love to help us up and enable us to overcome and stick to that commitment. It won't be easy but it will be more than possible with Him. That's the magnanimous nature our loving, holy God whose exacting nature demands retribution and judgement for sin and yet provides a way to waive judgement if we are willing take it. However, unlike our family or friends, He can hear our thoughts and see the depths of your heart; He knows the difference between a sincere apology and a I'll-just-say-this-now-but-do-my-own-thing-later lip service. Each will get their reward.

God's standards have been made clear in His Word. They are unyielding both for those who say they believe in Him, and those who don't. His love is just as unyielding for all. Jesus Christ was tortured, suffered and died a gruesome death on the cross on your behalf - that is the kind of death our sins make us worthy of but God knew that we could not both pay the price for our sin and live again - so He paid it first and in His resurrection provided the power to live free from the pulled-by-the-ring-in-the-nose regime of sin. The offer of His sacrifice on your behalf still stands today, 2 millennia later if you will accept it.

So take yourself up on the provision He has made in His love to get your books wiped clean - And it shall come that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32);  and again "in Him [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph 1:7).

If you believe this good news and don't know how to pray, it is as simple as talking because prayer is simply talking to God. Here is an example of a prayer you can follow if you don't know what to say:

Dear Father in Heaven,
I have done lots of things that are wrong, and that you probably hate. I have __[describe your sins]___. I understand that you are an exacting judge but that you are merciful too. Will you have mercy on me? I've tried and failed to make up for it. Please forgive me and wipe my slate clean. I don't know how to go from here but I ask for your help to live right according to your standards. Show me what I need to do and I'll do it with all my heart - but I you need to help me. Here I am. Make me clean, God and put in me a new heart!
I ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ who died to make forgiveness possible for me,
Amen.