How Jesus Allows Us to Draw Near.

When you think of God’s holiness, what comes to mind?

At one point in my life, the thought of His holiness evoked feelings of unworthiness and separation. Without an accurate understanding and knowledge of who He really was, I was lost under the weight of the reality of who I was.

My own shortcomings brought me shame, and I couldn’t understand how I could approach Someone so holy—set apart, unique, so unlike me.

I didn’t grow up attending church every Sunday or understanding how to have a relationship with God. Thankfully, I knew of Jesus and knew people who followed Him.

Still, I went off to college at the University of Texas (UT) without understanding how to have a relationship with God and why I believed anything I believed about Him. I struggled all my life to understand my purpose and place in the world, only emphasized by the innate fear and lifelong battle with anxiety that I faced.

Well, getting into the engineering school at UT only meant all these questions and fears exasperated, forcing me into this place where I struggled even more than ever. I chose to self-medicate the best way I knew how—with all the things that college had to offer. Ideas, people, substances—whatever would mask the pain, I dove into.

So, imagine, when I was finally introduced to Him by friends and found our campus ministry, Every Nation Campus (ENC), and Mosaic Church in Austin, I had a lot to unpack with God.

As a brand new Christian, I started reading a book in the Bible that everyone starts off with: Isaiah. Yeah, that one.

I clearly had no clue what I was doing, but everything jumped off the page. I had never actually heard much from the Old Testament.

But, the poetic and prophetic foreshadowing and beauty of God’s Word in the book of Isaiah showed me much more than that fallacy. I saw glimpses of Jesus and His future sacrifice that I never knew was there. I got to this passage in Isaiah 61:

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.

I remembered praying that day and getting this picture in the blank space in my mind—me, in the fetal position, lying on the ground.

Then, I saw this robe cover and engulf me, and I stood. Jesus, with His royal crown, faced me, cloaked me, and adorned me with jewels like His.

Because of the things I had done, I couldn’t believe this. Jesus, me, of all people, you forgive and clothed in the garments of salvation and clocked in a robe of righteousness?

But you don’t understand the things I’ve done, the things I’ve said, the people I’ve hurt, or the lies I’ve told.

But, I realized at that moment – rather, He helped me realize at that moment – He did. He understood it all, but He didn’t let me continue to lie on the ground, succumbing to the results, weight, and consequences of my shortcomings and wrongdoings—my sins.

He instead said, “Daughter, stand up and walk in what I have clothed you and cloaked you and adorned you with. What I have access to, you have access to. Your heavenly Father has made a way for you to be in relationship with Him—not hidden in shame and fear but unveiled and standing before and beholding Him face-to-face.”

I could only see how sinful and unholy I was. I was still lying in my shame, even after being baptized and choosing to follow Jesus. There I laid, the garments of salvation clothing me and the robe of righteousness cloaking me. Why?

Because Jesus made a way for me to be, He made me right with God, and I received His righteousness in exchange for my rags and His holiness in exchange for my sin.

God says, “Be holy as I am holy.” That’s His invitation to us. He makes holiness attainable, unashamed, and in the presence of God possible.

And when we accept His invitation, we receive His presence and begin to show the fruit of our rebirth in Him. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control overflow into and out our hearts. Daily, we are able in His strength and by His Spirit to live holy lives, set apart for His service and mission in the world.

Old Testament prophets like Isaiah anticipated the day when God would create a new temple (the Church) and a new priesthood (us). Now, because of Jesus, holiness is attainable to us, and God dwells within us, making us holy.

Practical Next Steps

Be still: Like me, you may need your own defining moment with Jesus to understand His nearness and holiness, which you now have access to. Try getting into a space within your holy imagination where you can picture Jesus and ask Him what He wants to speak over you today.

Read: Isaiah 61, 1 Peter 1:14-16, Leviticus 20:26, Romans 6:22, 2 Timothy 1:9

Reflection Steps

Reflect on these questions as you think about holiness and the nearness of God:

1. Are there any areas of sin (past or present) in your life that you carry shame in? In other words, in what ways are you still ‘lying down in shame’?
   
2. What would it look like to allow God to remove the shame?
   
3. In what ways can you draw near to God?

Let’s Pray Together

Dear God, help me to know you. Guide me near, into your presence and your grace. Thank you for being a loving and merciful God who made a way for me to know You through Your Son, Jesus. Jesus, thank you for making holiness attainable and allowing me to be unashamed in Your presence. I receive Your invitation: relationship with You, Your holiness, and presence. Holy Spirit, help me to grow in holiness only by the strength that only you give me. I leave the shame of my sin and walk in the truth that righteousness & holiness are attainable through you. Amen.