Corrupted holiness.

I've always been a big believer in personal holiness. Good works are easy to do and growing up in a lost culture I've seen many 'good' people doing awesome, selfless things, without knowing Christ. So although good works are of course important, I realised pretty fast that I couldn't persuade the ones I love that I am in a redeeming relationship with the creator of the universe by simply helping out in the nursery or because I taught sunday school...they wanted something more than that.

Instead I think the biggest evidence of those who love Christ is how they handle the small things; whether they freak out when things don't go as they planned or how they speak to their Mum, or wether they notice that person who's shy or having a hard time. THIS, I believe is our chance to become,

"blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" Philippians 2:15

...and this, I believe, is where the greatest discipline lies: in the hours spent in scripture and prayer and good fellowship in order to become the embodiment of our faith. A new creation, to whom the automatic response is to trample the sin nature in order to resemble Christ instead. "Be holy as I am holy."

But anyway, the point is that this week I was reading Isaiah 6:5

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips"

And that's when I realised that I have been neglecting a major part of my holiness as I have failed to realise the extent to which I am influenced by the spiritual state of those around me.  Isaiah cried out in despair not only for his own short fallings, but also for those of his people.  And it was through this that the Lord convicted me that I need to take on the trials and struggles of those around me as my own, instead of just selfishly securing my own holiness: to aknowledge the oneness of the body.

And of course the Lord has been faithful in trying out my response to his teaching as my eyes have been opened to so, so much of the hurt of others the past few days. So once again I am thankful for the Lord's rebuke and thankful for him alowing my heart to break once again.