Why Holiness?

“Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”  Psalm 29:2

What if He wasn’t?  What if God wasn’t holy?  Would it matter?  Would it make a difference?  David’s instruction to “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness” invokes images of majesty and glory, but what’s really so splendid about holiness?

Perhaps if God wasn’t so perfect, the pressure on us might be less intense.  If His standards weren’t set so high, we might not need so much help.  God’s demands would surely decrease if He slipped up every now and then.

But is that really what we want?  A God who isn’t always good?  A Father who isn’t forever faultless?  If God isn’t holy, He isn’t God at all, and we are left to wonder and wander in a world of variables with no absolutes.  God’s holiness is what makes right, right and wrong, wrong.  His holiness gives us hope, for only a holy God can serve justice and share grace.   Without God’s holiness, the world would be helpless—and hell.

But God is holy, and heaven rejoices.  The myriad of praises around His throne harmonizes with the relentless rhythm of “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty”(Rev. 4:8).  This ceaseless exclamation is a never-ending declaration of God’s never-faltering perfection.

He is flawless, and we are thankful.  He is beyond our best, and we rejoice.  His character is immaculate, and His actions are impeccable.  “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”(1 John 1:5).  How holy.  How splendid.

“Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”

There really is no other way.