Travis Reill on "Relational Holiness" by Oord and Lodahl

What is the core notion of holiness? Oord and Lodahl presented many different possibilities in “Relational Holiness”—purity, following the rules, complete commitment, being set apart, being perfect, and, lastly love. When presented the question and reflecting on my own life and what holiness/righteousness meant to me, the strongest reflections were perfection and following the rules. Holiness, or righteousness as it was most presented to me, was about being free from sin, being “perfect.” How was one to be perfect? By following the rules. How does one follow the rules? Don’t sin. Easy, right?

Christ tells us, “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). In my upbringing, I read this as, “Don’t sin, ‘cause I don’t sin,” or, “Follow the rules, because I follow the rules,” etc. But I have to believe that this scripture means so much more, that Christ isn’t just saying to “not sin” and “follow the rules,” but he is speaking to a life changing way that can only come through him (“because I am holy”). And to understand the holiness that Christ possesses, one must understand that the core notion, the basic principle behind this holiness is love. And one must furthermore understand that the love being talked about here, the holiness love, is very much alive, flowing throughout this world. And this love is very intentional. It is not used as an adjective but a verb, an action—“Only those acts that are intentional should be considered loving” (pg. 74). So maybe to better understand how to be holy, I can say, “Love, because I love.” Yet it still isn’t full enough. How do I remain in this love, or stay in a state of love/holiness? And the ever-present question of who to love?

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13: 34). This love seems to be about obeying Christ’s commands. So to remain in the holiness love, I must obey and do what Christ commands. And what did Christ command? Love one another. “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5-6). And who are we to love? Once again I take from 1 John, claiming that we “must walk as Jesus did.” So we are to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44), the blind man (John 9), the Samaritan woman (John 4), Pharisees (John 3), the man with leprosy (Luke 5:12), the paralytic (Luke 5:17), the 5000 (Mark 6:34). If I am going to walk as Jesus did, I must love everybody as Jesus did. Living a life of holiness means pursuing a love that can only be found in the example of Christ. Then and only then will I be holy, as he is holy.

This presents a small problem for my flesh, however. My flesh does not want to reach out to the Samaritan woman or to the blind man. My flesh doesn’t want to pursue the paralytic, nor does it want to associate with the leper. My flesh certainly does not want to feed the 5000. My flesh wants to follow the rules and try to remain pure. It eagerly awaits new goals and attempt to attain them, and new regulations to keep. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthy nature…” (Col. 3:5). My flesh is so staunchly opposed to this life of love, of holiness. If I am to “be holy, because [he] is holy,” then I can’t live through the resource of my flesh. I must live through Christ and his love. Then I can truly know what it is to be holy.