Step 2: We came to believe that a power greater than outselves could restore use to sanity.

February 26

Scripture reading for today: Instead of reading Leviticus, thumb through it and note the chapter headings. If you have any charts, glance over them (my NIV translation has some great summaries in chart form), notice all the rules and regulations that helped guide the Israelites in their pursuit of holiness.

Do you remember the “rules” God handed to Adam and Eve when he presented them with the key to the Garden of Eden? One rule - And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 NIV – delivered in chapter two of Genesis, broken in chapter three.

Leviticus has a bunch more rules than “don’t eat that”. Most of the Levitical law was purportedly given during the year that Israel camped at Mount Sinai. Much has been written about these laws and their implications for us in today’s world, but I want you to focus on the theme of Leviticus: be holy. God is holy, if he is our God, we are to do something (consecrate ourselves) and be holy ourselves. Because of who God is, our belief in him should change how we live.

I wonder if you sometimes find that message as discouraging and daunting as I do. Be holy. Wow. Who can do that? I can’t even keep my calendar straight or my kitchen vacuumed. Holiness seems far away…

Coming to believe requires me to wrestle with the command. I can’t just pretend it isn’t in scripture. In the gospels, there’s even a call to “be ye perfect” – and that fills me with fear just writing out the words. I don’t think I’ll ever fully grasp all that this means for me as a believer finding her way back to God. But I do believe it centers me, reminding me of several points relevant to step two:

• Who God is – holy – is amazing and frightening and mysterious.
• Who He has created me to “be” – my true God-created identity – can reflect part of that mysterious glory.
• What this means for my daily living is a constantly evolving, God-inspired, Holy Spirit-revealing process far bigger than my pea brain can grasp unless God chooses to teach me.
• Where do I go from here? That is a question I will be asking minute-by-minute every day for the rest of my life.

Thought for today: Step two isn’t about answering all the questions. It’s about realizing that there are questions worth asking, and a God capable of revealing all that I need to know in order to be who I need to be in this moment.

Thought for tomorrow: I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Leviticus 11:44 NIV

February 26
Teresa McBean

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Other links: www.crosswalk.com &  NACR Online