I have recently been thinking about every aspect of God by looking at Christ. This is nothing bizarre but simply a logical response to verses such as Hebrews 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” I had spent many years thinking that I need to see God and see that he is much better than everything else: more powerful, more pure etc. However, I have struggled to think of God. I have spent hundreds of hours in quiet rooms trying to think of God and failing to do so. It is hard to imagine an infinite eternal and perfect spirit, as you do not encounter such things ever in real life. There is little for the imagination to latch on to and to connect with – and so little for the emotions to latch on to and connect with.
So I have thought about many aspects of God by thinking about Christ. If I want to think of God’s wisdom I think about some of the answers he gave to those who tried to trick him, for example the answers concerning paying taxes to Caesar and marriage in Luke 20. To think about intimacy with God I imagine myself as the woman (I am male but this isn’t a problem!) pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet, and imagine the nail marks there – the feet that suffered for me.
The theme of God’s holiness is something I have wanted to grasp more. This is not to say I have got reasonably far and I can’t go much further because it is infinite, rather it is infinite but I have barely got anywhere. Now holiness is to do with purity, the lack of any darkness, and about being set apart for God’s will.
So how did Jesus demonstrate this.
Purity
– Blameless toward women, having healthy pure relationships
– Integrity of speech (telling the truth)
– No selfishness (came to serve)
– No impure anger (not even striking anyone)
– No bitterness, even forgave his torturers
– No profit sought or impure motive
Set-apartness
– Continued focus on God’s will (frequent prayer and fasting)
– Went ahead with the torture and rejection despite his senses struggling
– Prepared to face rejection