“Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” Luke 7:6-7 (NLT)
He was a Roman officer. He had a title. He had clout. He had authority. With just one word, he could command his servants to perform some task and they would do it, no questions asked. This man understood the power that derived from his position. Yet he considered himself unworthy to welcome Jesus into his home. As a result, he sent a delegation to ask Jesus to speak healing into his servant’s life, fully believing Jesus could do so without being physically present.
I fear we sometimes forget we serve a holy God. In using terms like friend, loving Father, sweet little baby Jesus, let’s not relegate God’s holiness to a secondary place in our minds. We serve a God who cannot bear to look upon our sin, who rained fire on Gomorrah, who destroyed an entire Egyptian army in one fell swoop, and who flooded the world, saving only a handful of people and living creatures. With one word, He could wipe out our world as we know it. God is so holy that we can’t even look upon His face.
Yet this holy, righteous God bestows grace upon grace. He does not do it because we are good or do good works, not because we have rank or power, not because we merit any good thing from His merciful hand. He does it out of pure love.
Oh, that I might always remember to step into His sacred presence with an attitude of humility, respect, and honor. Let me never get so ‘comfortable’ living in His grace that I lose sight of His holiness. For it is in recognizing my sinfulness in the light of His holiness that I am reminded how blessed I am to receive His pardon and His grace.