Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.
Isaiah 6:2-3
Imagine That
Use your senses to imagine what this scene would have been like. The air is thick with sound and color and motion. All of this energy is focused on one thing: the glory and presence of God. He is unlike anyone or anything we know. He is holy, holy, holy.
When you think about God’s holiness, how does that make you feel? Does He seem far away and unable to understand you and your life? Do you see Him as a stern father waiting for you to mess up, then abandoning you in disgust?
Towards The Mess
One look at Jesus, and these false assumptions are shattered. In the Gospels, Jesus is constantly criticized by the religious leaders for hanging out with “sinners.” If the Son of God, the reflection of His holiness, was touching, encouraging, feeding and loving those who were seen as “mess ups”—tax collectors, lepers, Gentiles, and scores of hurting people—it’s obvious He did not run the other way. Jesus ran toward.
In his book Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund beautifully describes how God moves toward us, even when we are a mess. He writes, “The cumulative testimony of the four Gospels is that when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world around Him, His deepest impulse, His most natural instinct, is to move toward that sin and suffering, not away from it.” Ortlund goes further to say, “He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But He loves you.”
Not Like Us
God does not abandon us because of our sin and weakness—He is right there beside us in the fight. His love for us propels Him forward to provide a way out from the pain and destruction of sin.
Because He is holy, holy, holy, God does not respond like men respond. He does not run away. He runs toward.
Now What?
Take a moment to pause and to reflect on your relationship with the Lord. Is there sin in your life that causes you to avoid Him and His presence? Ask Him to show you the ways in which He is faithfully moving toward you and fighting for you in your journey to know Him more deeply.
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