Hajja Salesjana July-September 2021

32 H AJJA S ALESJANA As I wrestle sin and fight for faith, I sometimes wish the pursuit of holiness came with some kind of equation. ([X minutes of Bible reading] + [Y minutes of prayer]) x [Z days a week] = holiness If we wanted to be even holier, we could add in some regular accountability, small-group participation, evangelism and fasting. Either way, this would be clear and predictable. This would make holiness manageable. This would give us control. “We can become experts in the Christian life without growing any closer to Christ.” Then I remember a man who came to Jesus with a desire not so different from my own: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). The man’s equation was nearly complete: no murder, no adultery, no stealing, no lying (Mark 10:19–20). What variable was he missing? Then comes the answer that scatters every dream of a predictable pursuit of holiness: “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Come, leave predictable behind and follow me. Be near me. Commune with me. Live to see my glory. This is unpredictable. This cannot be managed or controlled. And this is the only path to holiness. Christless ‘Holiness The pull I feel with regard to holiness is really just one version of a common temptation: to try to live the Christian life without Christ. To replace discipleship with technique, worship with emotional hype, communion with a list of rules or spiritual practices. It is a startling fact that we can become experts in the Christian life without growing any closer to Christ. The religiously minded have always been drawn to such Christless “holiness.” We see it in the Pharisees, those walking tombs of men, washed white on the outside while the bones of the dead rattled within (Matthew 23:27). We see it in the false teachers at Colossae, who boasted of “self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body” while their flesh enjoyed a feast (Colossians 2:23). And many of us see traces of it in ourselves. My own proneness to pursue Christless “holiness” was exposed recently as I asked myself (through the guidance of a wise saint), Holiness Begins in Intimacy with Jesus by Scott Hubbard Editor, desiringGod.org