Last week I talked about the Myth of Separation.
This week I want to continue that theme a bit. We saw that because of Christ, we are no longer separated from God and there is nothing that can separate us from Him. Any feelings of separation come from us turning our face from Him and not seeing clearly that He Loves us. No matter how far we wander, God is standing right behind us, waiting for us to turn into His embrace.
Much of Christian theology likes to emphasize man's plight, separate from God, and in need of Salvation. The theology continues to examine and praise the Salvation brought through Christ, but it stops there. American, Christian teaching tends to teach that man is awful and needs to be saved, then gives the answer of Christ's Salvation, and then repeats the cycle, moving back to the awfulness of humanity instead of living and resting in the freedom and Truths of salvation.
I don't know about you, I've been 'saved' since I was a child, and while there have been glimmers of hope the whole time, it wasn't until deconstructing my faith and rejecting this cycle that I've begun to truly see the Hope of Christ.
The Christian life is often described as a battle between the saved spirit and the deplorable flesh.
And yet:
‘You will be holy, because I am holy.’
1 Peter 1:16 (OEB)
God declares us Holy.
Let's make sure I'm not taking things out of context.
It was this salvation that the prophets, who spoke long ago of the blessing intended for you, sought, and strove to comprehend; as they strove to discern what that time could be, to which the Spirit of Christ within them was pointing, when foretelling the sufferings that Christ would have to endure, and the glories that would follow. And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, have brought you the good news – truths into which even angels long to look.
Therefore concentrate your minds, with the strictest self-control, and fix your hopes on the blessing that is coming for you at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Be like obedient children; do not let your lives be shaped by the passions which once swayed you in the days of your ignorance, but in your whole life show yourselves to be holy, after the pattern of the Holy One from whom you received your call. For scripture says –
‘You will be holy, because I am holy.’
And since you call on him as ‘Father,’ who judges everyone impartially by what he has done, let respectful awe be the spirit of your lives during the time of your stay on earth.
1 Peter 1:10-17 (OEB)
To summarize: Now that you are Saved, act holy, because you are holy.
Other translations say, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’
I like that wording a bit more. However, it has caused some trouble. On the surface, a commandment to be holy like God is holy is a bit intimidating. It's natural to question how you could ever live up to that standard and then in the day-to-day life feel like a failure for occasionally (or more often than not) not living up to it.
The problem, like with the Myth of Separation, comes when our focus gets shifted from what was to what is. What was was "the passions which once swayed you in the days of your ignorance.” What is is “‘You will be holy, because I am holy.’”
You are already holy. You don't need to try to be holy. You simply need to be what you are.
Most struggles and suffering simply come from us (and others) stumbling around, blind to who we truly are: Holy Children of God.
You are Love.