Every vocation has a vocabulary. A right of passage into a particular field
includes learning the vocabulary. The
fields of psychology, medicine, law, engineering, ministry, auto mechanics,
information technology, agriculture, pubic health all have their own
vocabulary. I have four brothers who are
all physicians. Family gatherings are
like mini-medical conventions. I quietly
listen to the chatter and smile, but can’t access the conversation very
meaningfully nor contribute much of value without a basic competence in the
vocabulary.
It occurred to me recently that this is the challenge in
understanding scripture. God gave us the
remarkable gift of His Word and it's words that help us understand who He is and
who we are and can be. Take the idea of
holiness for example. The Hebrew word
for holy, holiness, or sanctify is qadosh. It is mentioned 830 times in the Old
Testament. In Greek in the New Testament
the word is hagios. It is mentioned 268 times with the same
meanings as qadosh.
Holiness is an overarching theme
throughout the Bible. It speaks to the
moral character of God, His love, purity and selflessness. It also is a command reflecting God’s desire that
we share His moral character by being separated from sin and devoted entirely
to Him. By faith we are saved from our
sin by Christ’s work on the cross.
Likewise, it is by faith that we receive a holy heart, a heart cleansed
from sin and therefore sanctified.
Another way of saying this is that we receive the fullness of the Holy
Spirit. Notice all the new words: holy, holiness, sanctify, fullness of the
Spirit. There’s more. There is the opportunity to grow in grace, to
experience purity of heart, to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Many years ago, Edward L. R. Elson was the chaplain of the
U.S. Senate. He wrote a beautiful essay
entitled “Life’s Single Vocation.” In it
he says, “There are many callings and professions, but for the Christian there
is only one vocation – to love the Lord with all the heart and mind and soul,
and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.”
These are the Great Commandments (Matthew 22”37-39). They reflect inward and outward holiness. They are impossible to do consistently
without the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. Dr. Elson is right. Whether you are a teacher, doctor, plumber,
IT technician, psychologist, auto mechanic, lawyer, homemaker, or student,
there is only one vocation. That
vocation requires a vocabulary.
Like the vocabulary of one’s profession, we need the
vocabulary of our single vocation. Where
do we learn that vocabulary in order to understand and communicate with God and
with others? The vocabulary of holiness
is found in the Word of God. We do well
to read, study, learn, and exercise the language of heaven passed down to us
through the millennia. It helps us
connect with the heart of God and his remarkable desire to make Himself known,
understood, and intimate with us. It is
in the vocabulary of holiness that we discover the mystery of a whole other
world, the world of consecration, devotion, and life’s complete fulfillment in
holiness. Holiness unto the Lord can
come alive in the life of a Christ follower.
In Christ, the Word became flesh so that He, the living God, might live
in us.
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