Holiness: Purity

Well, this is what I originally intended to write about this week: purity. My brain just decided to break down a few days ago and write something else instead.

Let's start with the tzitzit. These blue fringes that God commands us in Torah to wear are traditionally made out of a wool/linen mixture--a mixture forbidden in any garment except that worn by the high priest. So, to me it's kinda like a small piece of the priesthood that we are given to wear. Just as the sons of Aaron were given as priests to Israel, we are like priests to the world--ambassadors of God, teaching His ways and leading the people to worship our King.

Another interesting fact about tzitzit is that the Hebrew word for "blue" (Techillot) is actually related to the Hebrew word for "bride" (Challah). And the language used in the commandment (Num. 5:38-40) echoes of remaining faithful to the marriage covenant between Israel and God. So, you could think of the tzitzit as a type of wedding ring.

In this light, I see the blue fringes as a reminder that we are to remain pure and faithful to our God just as a bride to her husband. Just as the priests were held to a higher standard of purity so that they could minister to the people, we must maintain a higher standard of purity so that we can minister before the nations. That means keeping ourselves pure from idols. That means guarding our eyes and our ears. That means guarding our hearts and keeping purity a priority in our friendships. We are not our own; we belong to God.

Do you wear tzitzit? What do they mean to you?

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Holiness: Fringes

I should have started here. It seems like such a small commandment. Put fringes on your garments. Let the thread of blue remind you of the commandments. Yet, within those blue fringes is where I see the beginnings of holiness. 

He doesn't say make whole garments out of blue. Just one thread. One tiny thread that makes the whole garment holy.

I'm listening to the radio today, hearing Brant talk about the Boston marathon explosion that just happened. Two explosions near the end of the finish line resulting in at least two deaths and dozens of injuries. And I'm tempted to just throw in the towel and let the whole world burn. I hear so much of this, the wickedness in the earth. The brokenness of the human race. I've become numb to it.

Brant pulled this quote from Mr. Rogers:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

God says tie a thread of blue onto the four corners of your garments. Four--as in the four corners of the earth. There is a thread of blue in the corners of the globe. A single thread of holiness and love, the mark of the people of God. And this is where we are told to look. This is who we are instructed to be. The helpers, the healers of the world.

The world is broken. It has been broken and torn for six thousand years. This is where we live. So, I tie a string to my garment to remind me of who I am--servant of the Most High God, child of the One True King. And when I look at that thread of blue, I remember to look for the fingerprints of God in this world and to be His hands and feet. Because wherever you look, if you look hard enough, you will find the helpers. And just maybe He will give you and me the chance to be helpers too. All He asks for is one small thread.

This week, my challenge is to look at life as one large tapestry and find one place to weave in a thread of holiness.

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