Becoming Entirely His

Whybrew

“Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:4)

Within scripture, at least nine verses contain the words, “Be holy because I am Holy.” Within the July 31 devotion of Oswald Chambers, these words can be incriminating. “Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy.”

As we progress in our journey of being a disciple of Jesus, we may have shredded ourselves of the major sins that corrupted our youth. Unfortunately, we still may be stuck with particles of our sinful nature that may come to punch us in the proverbial stomach if we allow them.

Several examples occur to me, probably because they sometimes can be reflected in my current life and personality. Those of us who had major anger issues, even though we have been cleansed and forgiven for those episodes, sometimes anger grips us and we store up those feelings until we explode yet again.

We perhaps immediately feel remorse, wonder why we have slipped up once again, and ask for God’s forgiveness. Where is the patience that James spoke of in James 1:4? Where is the holiness that God asks to attain in those nine scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments?

Perhaps, the anger comes from stored-up bitterness or a sense of social justice, or great hurt that we have experienced. Certainly, we can be justified in feeling the anger that comes from those situations. However, releasing that anger in a mean, unkind manner is not compatible with patience and holiness.

I have struggled with critical spirit and judgmentalism all my life. The Holy Spirit has taught me to listen better and learn the stories of others’ situations; however, I sometimes think critical thoughts about others. Then I hear myself and realize that I have criticized again. Another reminder of unholiness.

Patience can bring us to the point where we understand, are compassionate with others, as well as forgiving even when we have been hurt.

Sometimes when we observe someone belittling others or harming them in some other way, our sense of social justice may spur us to words and actions unworthy of our calling to “be holy as I am Holy.” What can we do? We may feel justified; we may feel remorse; we may cause irreparable damage to our relationships. Is it impossible to “be holy as I am Holy?”

Yes, we may ask forgiveness from the Lord and from the person or persons we have hurt. That is right and acceptable. Do we just accept that we are human, and those remnants of our former carnal nature will probably continue?

Oswald Chambers says, “Be aware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying ‘Oh, that will have to do for now.’ Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His.”

The journey to holiness is filled with bumps and bruises, yet God keeps calling us forward to a better life, a better relationship with Jesus Christ, and patience that “makes us perfect and complete.”

Dear Lord, we are often caught in the dilemma of realizing that we have slipped once again into former unflattering patterns. We want to be holy as you have required, but we fail. What do we do Lord? Help us always depend on the Holy Spirit to turn our attention to our flaws, seek forgiveness and try again. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Jerry is just an ordinary Jesus follower who is blessed to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit in writing these articles. He is also a retired high school counselor who has learned many lessons from his students and friends through the years. Jerry can be reached at jcwhybrew@hotmail.com.