Re-reading Relational Holiness for the first time since college--since my life has been reshaped and I am in a place that I’m actually on a holiness journey rather than the ambiguously “religious” yet stagnant place in life I was at before--was a great experience. It was like these words were fresh and meaningful rather than something that I would rather avoid so as to keep the spiritual anonymity that I kept myself in. Interesting too that this book caused me to take a look at the methods of deconstruction that thrust me out of the ambiguity and towards this fresh and kinetic journey striving towards holiness. This book reminded me that I shouldn’t be putting my efforts towards that which I don’t want to be apart of. Relational Holiness warns us that “denominations with ties to the Holiness tradition are in danger of becoming theologically unrecognizable from the Evangelical Christian mainstream.” Instead of putting my energy into angst and keeping myself as far away from everything that is Evangelical Christian mainstream, I should put my energies towards shaping my life around a theology representing what I do want my life to look like.
Relational Holiness takes an in depth look at the idea of “holiness” and “sanctification” to get to the point of what it is to be a “Holiness People.” Several definitions come to mind that Lodahl and Oord talk about: following rules and ethical codes, being pure, being set apart, total devotion, and perfection. Yet, none of these can stand alone to define “holiness.” Love is essential to being holy. And God is Love. To be holy is to love God, neighbors, creation, and ourselves. To live out love means to breed abundant life, promoting well being in any context, and creating deep bonds with God and others.
The text describes the Wesleyan concept of “Adventurer Theology” in which we embrace the fact that God has gone before us--not having predestined each of our steps, but that He is constantly inviting us in each of our steps and decisions to chose the most loving or holy choice. This ongoing journey of choosing to love God, others, creation, and ourselves is the life of Holiness.
As we look at the “distinctives” of holiness mentioned before from the perspective of an adventurer or an active participant living out these distinctives because of love rather than seeking personal piety or some other agenda, we see the concept of “Relational Holiness” becoming a truly beautiful reflection of what it is to live the God-life. When we look at following rules and regulations as an act of obedience (love) to a God who has our best interests for our stories in mind, or our quest for purity as Love excluding sin, it becomes beautiful rather than dogmatic. Looking at being set apart and perfection as developing a lifestyle of love that stands out as a witness to God’s grace and love in the world, it points towards Him rather than a personal quest of piety. Living this reflection of Holiness seems irresistible, worth living, and we take our focus off of what we don’t want to be apart of and place our focus on what God is inviting us into.
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