Holiness and Love
Matthew 22:36-40
And he has given us this command;
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:21
In scripture, God says two things about his essence; he is holy, and he is love. All holiness comes from God, and no one is holy apart from his presence. Yet even in our sin, humans cry out for that which is sacred, moral, and right.
Human beings cannot cease from moralizing, and they will become irate if injustice is done to them. Personally they may be immoral, but they will retain their standards of morality for other people to live up to.
No one should steal their cat or kidnap their child, even if you quiz them about the inconsistency, they will justify their own immorality. All people come from the holy One, and he has stamped us with his own image.
However, God is not simply holy; he is holy love. Because we came from his hand, we also cry out for true and pure love. We long to find our fulfilment, not in our isolated desires and ambitions, but in something bigger than ourselves.
I have come to wonder whether the emphasis on love in our generation, even in all its perversity, is a symbol that our hearts are desperately hungry for a love that truly satisfies.
In God holiness and love are inseparable. His moral purity is combined with his personal loving presence, and his love is a pure and burning one
This is an excerpt from the book This Day with the Master by Dennis Kinlaw If you would like to buy this book please click here.