How many times do we read in the Bible that God says we are to be holy, as he is holy? Too many times to count, right?
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But we are human beings; mortal, finite, and born with iniquity in our very DNA! God is perfect, holy, eternal, and unchanging; he knows we are weak, sinful, and as stable as a leaf in a hurricane, so why would he even think to task us with such an enormous burden, to be as he is?
How can God, being fair and just, expect us to be the same way he is?
The answer is: he doesn’t. C’mon, people, get real! God absolutely knows that we could never be the exact same way he is, so what does he mean when he says, “Be holy, as I am holy”?
I believe he means to emulate the way he is.
“What way is that?” you may ask, and the answer is given by God, himself: he tells us the way he is throughout the Torah.
God is forgiving; God loves everyone, even those who hate and reject him; God is fair and just, not giving special treatment to anyone.
God wants to forgive but because he is holy and just he will punish those who do evil in his sight, so we, too, must be fair and just, willing to forgive but not allowing evil to go unpunished.
God is trustworthy- he says what he means and he does what he says, unfailingly. His “Yes” means yes, and his “No” means no! Therefore, we must be trustworthy and do as we promise.
That’s all there is to it! God is forgiving, loving, just, fair, and merciful but will not allow evil to go unpunished. He treats all people the same and will not be turned to the left or the right, maintaining his course along a moral and holy path.
This is hard for us to do, but it is possible. We can never be exactly as God is, but we can be holy, as he is holy by dealing with people the same way he deals with us.
And if you aren’t really sure how to do that, then read the Torah. That is where God tells us how to worship him, and how to treat each other in all the different relationships we have. God tells us how to act with our spouses, our family, our friends, and in our business relationships. He even tells us how we should deal with evil by giving us a Penal Code.
God tells us how he expects us to interact with him and each other, and that is possible for us to do.
So, yes, Virginia- there is a way we can be holy, as God is holy, and the way to do that is to deal with people the same way God deals with us.
We can never be exactly as God is, but we can emulate God in the way we deal with others.
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That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
