Dear Amy,
If love is one side of the coin which defines how we must live our lives, what is the other?
To be sure, the coin bears the face of Jesus, for it is his currency and our lives must reflect his own. So why is it that I am wanting to further distil this? Simply so we may grasp with crystal clarity what it really means to live our lives in a way which honours him absolutely.
We have already seen that love is the most important thing⸺love for the Father and love for Jesus, followed by love for one another.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
― Mark 12:28-31
One side of the coin is simply inscribed love.
And the other side?
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
― Leviticus 19:1-2
The other side of the coin is inscribed holiness. Love and holiness. Two sides of the same coin in fact. How so? Jesus tells us.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
― John 14:15
So our personal holiness must be a consequence of love. Our motivation to live with holiness must be love for the Lord, our utmost desire to honour him. There is no other way to live like this victoriously in his power and by his grace. And in this there can be no pretending.
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
― 1 Chronicles 28:9
The Hebrew word here is yêtser, which means intent. He understands every intent of the thoughts. Every motive. This is both confronting and liberating. Confronting obviously. But liberating because when we stumble, which we do because that is part of what it means to be human, he understands the motive behind the thoughts. If my deepest desire is to honour my Heavenly Father, he knows this, and my stumbles are easily forgiven as simply that.
Love and holiness⸺this is what must define us if we are to bring him glory, fulfil his mission for us, and change the world. And this too is what must define our church if we are to have any relevance in a broken and hurting world.
So each morning I awake, I resolve to honour the Lord this very day through the love and holiness of my life. It is my offering of worship to him, and it is joyous.
Pursue love and holiness, Amy, with ruthless consistency and great joy! 🙏