Becoming Like Christ (Oct. 5)
Read: Isaiah 6:5-7
True worship creates in us the desire to conform into more Christ-like character.
When Isaiah found himself in the presence of God, his first reaction was shame and to lament his own uncleanness. It makes sense; In the presence of God, who knows every tiny detail about Isaiah (and us), nothing is hidden – everything is exposed.
I recently learned that the original Greek word for “worship” literally means “kiss,” as in kissing the hand of a superior. In other words, when we truly worship, we are drawing so near to God that we can kiss Him – and no matter how much we kid ourselves, there’s definitely no hiding anything when we’re that close.
God’s holiness means that He hates sin, and the nearer we draw to Him through worship, the brighter the revealing light of God’s presence shines on our sin, forcing us to take one of two actions: address it or ignore it. One action clears a path for us to draw nearer, the other puts a buffer between us and God, stunting our sanctification. One action chooses honor before God through confession and repentance, the other chooses honor before men by hiding our deepest selves.
Regardless of God’s holiness, He doesn’t turn away from our sin in disgust. When Isaiah cried “unclean!” God sent an angel to cleanse him, foreshadowing the fact that He would send His Son to save our entire unclean race!
Hidden sin prevents true intimacy with God, but not because He pushes it away. Rather, by opting to hide our sin, we choose to keep the revealing light of God’s presence at a distance.
Yes, God hates sin, and yet He invites us into His presence, knowing that we cannot be free of sin during this life. How does that work? He doesn’t shine a light on our sin so He can see it and avoid it – He shines it so we can see it and address it, and then draw closer to Him.
May we draw ever nearer to God through true worship, and in so doing, expose our whole selves to the revealing light of His presence.
Action Step: Listen to “Behold Him” by The Sing Team and do your best to draw near, be still, and behold Him.
Prayer: God, thank You for being the light in the darkness. May I draw nearer to You today and come to recognize hidden sin in my life that keeps me from knowing greater intimacy with You. Amen.
Author: Zach McDonald