John 14:15–21

 John 14:15–21

Holiness is too often misunderstood by contemporary disciples and even less often practiced. Jesus says “If you love me you’ll keep my Commandments”. This call to holiness is more than a vague obedience “to love God and love your neighbor”. It is entirely and absolutely not a legalistic kind of man-made righteousness in which we associate holiness with a list of “don’t do this”. Holiness is not the dour, sad, stiff, joyless life that is expressed in harsh mean cranky men and makeupless women and young people working hard not to get caught.

Jesus uses this moment to link holiness with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to the disciple and the disciple knows or recognizes the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit stays with the disciple. The love for Jesus, the keeping of His commandments, and the life with the Holy Spirit or all deeply interrelated. While this is an overly short definition we might say that holiness is to know and recognize what the Holy Spirit is doing, enjoying Him and doing it with Him. It is much more proactive than a list of “thou shalt not”. It is more engaging than a vague “love God and people”. It doesn’t focus on appearances. If keeping Jesus’ commandment, i.e. holiness, is joining the Holy Spirit and what He is doing we will certainly not engage in sinful conduct, we will love God and man, and we will be actively going about doing good things, the things that please the Father. This quality will be completely absent from the world. Without the Spirit’s direction the world is incapable of holy living because they can’t perceive what the Spirit wills.

“Lord, help me perceive the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my life. AMEN”