Visiting a campground on the Canadian shield is a time for trekking along rocky trails along lakes, culminating in perfectly placed cliffs to function as a springboard into the refreshing water.
After the dangers were assessed, the kids were eager to cool off in the stifling summer heat and I made the jump (along with a wild squeal) into the water. Only after a parent was in the water did they feel comfortable to jump.
Why?
Because they trusted me.
They knew if anything happened, I was there. They trusted if they had trouble swimming back, I’d help them. They knew my love and care for them, believed I would look out for them-a simple, yet bold, act of trust.
A similar thing happens in our relationship with the Lord; what we know and believe about him impacts our response and obedience.
Jackie Hill Perry has a new book coming out and it’s all about helping us learn to trust the Lord. How does she approach it? Through the lens of God’s holiness.
In Holier Than Thou: How God's Holiness Helps Us Trust Him, she writes, "If God is holy, then He can't sin. If God can't sin, then He can't sin against me. If He can't sin against me, shouldn't that make Him the most trustworthy being there is?"
The same way children trust their parents because they know them, have experienced their love and believe they hold their best intentions at heart, is how our Father God has acted toward us, but with unwavering faithfulness and perfect love.
She traces the holiness of God through creation, the fall, and redemption, defines his moral perfection-which illuminates our own sin and exposes the deceit in our hearts-and, describes his transcendence-the infinitely different ‘otherness’ of his character.
Now, this may sound like a lot of technical theological words (which they are) but she breaks it down for us, her readers, in simple, practical language helping us to learn more about the character of God and what it means for us as believers: “because God is holy, all that He says is true and all that He does is good.”
She contrasts the holiness of God and idolatry, “idolators don’t want the real God; they want to be him,” and because the gift of salvation in Christ, a holy vision of our sanctification becomes a real possibility.
This Christ-likeness is an active process. So often, “we have supposed that the way to help people be holy is to just tell them to “stop sinning,” when in fact, lasting transformation is a spiritual consequence of “beholding the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18).” To believe him and know him we must learn how he has revealed himself to us in the Word.
If you are struggling to trust God and you aren't sure you can, one place to start is by learning more about who he is. God is holy. He's not like us. He doesn't love imperfectly, he doesn't plan haphazardly, and he doesn't stand for sin, ever. “The holy, holy, holy God owes us nothing, but His compassion is what He’s given us anyway” and isn't that just amazing!! The gospel is lifesaving.
This book is seven chapters teaching us about what it means that God is holy. I'd really recommend it!
Quick Stats
# of pages: 208 pages
Level of difficulty: Moderate (for theological concepts) but explained in accessible language
My Rating: 5 stars!
A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to post an honest review!