How to have an Exceptional Life
In a world of the ordinary and mediocre, companies search for excellence. Consumers demand dependability. Citizens long for stability. In a world of cover-up and lies we seek truth and honesty. With unfaithfulness running rampant we yearn for unswerving loyalty.
Where impurity threatens our health, morals and communities, we search for what is pure. We are all looking for the exceptional.
The Bible constantly speaks of this idea of an exceptional life. It uses the word “holy.” This simply means something or someone that is a cut above the rest – exceptional. This is the very nature of God.
“Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Revelation 4:8b
There is no word that emphasizes the character of God than the word holy. That is who He was, who He is and who He will always be, He is exceptional.
What makes God holy?
There is nothing mediocre about Him. He is excellent. Check out His creation. He has been faithful to His character. His word will always remain true. He is the Rock of stability and reliability. He never lies but is the embodiment of all truth. He is an infinite cut above the rest.
This is also the reason why we disdain His holiness. It would be like having a boyfriend who had the face of Brad Pit, the physique of Ulysses, the wisdom of Solomon, the brilliance of Steve Jobs, the wealth of Warren Buffet but was impeccably kind, gentle, selfless and humble. More importantly he is morally pure.
The Perfect Boyfriend and You
Imagine being this guy’s girlfriend. Every time you get near him, you just looked uglier, dumber, poorer, more selfish, proud and impure. The closer you got the more insecure you became. This is the same reason why we disdain the holiness of God. It reminds us of our true self.
In our inability to measure up we decide that this exceptional life is not for us and choose to live in the ordinary, the mediocre. On the extreme we console ourselves by saying that no such Person exists, therefore there is no God.
There is just us imperfect people and we get to define what is exceptional. Often we end up with things like popularity, money, image, looks, performance, toys and games for our self-gratification. The result is an ordinary world of self-absorption, greed, fakery, vanity and unfulfilled, selfish boys and girls.
Without a God of holiness there is no benchmark for beauty, faithfulness, strength, wisdom, reliability, love and truth. Without a Holy God we will end up living an ordinary life in an ordinary world.
His Exceptional Love
This is the reason the Father sent us His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we may have a glimpse of His holiness. Not by showing off His perfection but by showing us that we too can live this exceptional life.
He is the perfect boyfriend who chose to be ugly so that we can be beautiful in the Father’s sight (Isa. 53:2), the rich young man who chose to be poor so that we could be made rich (2Cor. 8:9), the wise One who gave us all wisdom (Eph. 3:10), the brilliant One (Rev. 1:6) who makes us shine as the stars (Phil. 2:15).
But most all He is the One who died so that our guilt, condemnation and trash of a life can be lived exceptionally.
Holiness is not something we do but something that He has done in us. That's why He says, be holy (not do holy) because I am holy, and without holiness you will not see the Lord. And in Jesus you and I have been made holy. This is the one revelation you need to live an exceptional life.
Choose each day to be holy and live exceptionally.
This post is dedicated to David Alejandro De Vorre on his 13th birthday. Happy Birthday David. It is my hope and prayer that you live an exceptional life as you grow in your relationship with our holy God.
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