To be holy or not to be? That is the question.

Dictionary defines holiness as the state of being holy. Usually given to one that is a Pope or a Patriarch. Interesting. This is the word that's on my mind for the passed three weeks. I need the ability to see the amount of work something will entail before I volunteer to do it. Too late for that now. The Holiness of God: playing with fire is Camp Arev's theme this year. It may seem very simple to talk about. Holiness of God is what makes God God. Interesting, because you know if I was asked to describe God, holy wouldn't have been my first word. Or let alone in high school, I wasn't thinking about God's holiness, and why should I care about it? All I was thinking about was the girl across the room or making sure the girls would see my great skills in soccer or dancing.

So the task of thinking like a high schooler and building a bridge to the holiness of God is a task that can only get done with prayer. Amazingly thinking about this topic more, I can see why the camp committee has chosen such a topic. Because going back to my initial thought of who God is, I would have said gracious. But that's exactly the point with holiness, usually we think we deserve the grace provided at the cross. We don't normally think about what we've done to undeservedly receive that grace. "Yeah, it's free get some forgiveness here!" We just want to be forgiven, forgetting what God is capable of doing to us, if we never repent and ask to be forgiven. But God being a just and loving God, has to get some justice done for the sins we've done and is still loving enough to provide that salvation. If God is perfect and just, then He has to punish us for sin. The question is do we realize that we've sinned?

The picture above is from my ordination. It's funny because at that stage in life, four years this September, I thought I knew everything. Some people in the Armenian community would bow before me, or look for a ring to kiss. A holy man because of some robe, how easy it is to be considered holy.

Questions to ponder as I prepare for these talks:

What makes something holy?

Why should a high schooler care about God's holiness?

Why should I care for that matter?

Off the top of my head, I think the camp committee really wants to install a fear/reverence into the next generation of viewing God as holy. Because we rarely look at God as, "if I don't follow what He says, then I'm burned." We naturally hope and know that if I don't follow what God says, I'll just ask for forgiveness later, and we'll be all squared away. Uzzah wasn't thinking that and look what happened to him.