The Beauty in You (On Godliness & Holiness)

Today’s craze in fashion and social media gave advent on aesthetic consciousness. We are accustomed with fascinating and mystifying realm of different experiences from beautiful to ugly experiences in terms of physical appearances or even pleasant to bewildering practices and attitudes. Most of the time, people project themselves to be good and commendable before the general public. It is self-gratifying on their part to be appreciated. However, internal struggles and adversarial reactions from within are brewing because their own expectations were not met that resulted to frustrations and disappointments. There is so much fear to be ridiculed or not to be accepted. Moreover, they themselves desired to just be themselves without criticism or being put to shame.

It is time to be set free from such enslavement. The key is to go back to who we really are, created and originally designed by God according to His image and likeness. He imparted in us His very being and nature. One grand example of His nature is holiness. Jesus Christ Himself said that we be holy because our heavenly Father is holy. Holiness is an attribute of becoming “more than being good and morally upstanding. God's holiness is His defining characteristic. It’s a term used in the Holy Scriptures to describe both His goodness and His power. It is completely unique and utterly all-powerful, radiating from God like an energy.” Thus, the beauty of His holiness was revealed, realized and understood.

We are called to live His nature. We are urged and exhorted through the commandment of God through His Son Jesus that we should abound more and more in both faith and grace to walk and to please God. It is God’s will that we be sanctified and cleansed from all unrighteousness because this is the hallmark of those who fear and love Him. It is a proof that we had totally dedicated our lives to Him. Either as a public figure or a private one, we should abstain from all forms of immorality which was defined as evil, sinful or otherwise wrong behavior. These wrong behaviors can be associated to wrongful acts as defined in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. These, among others, include crimes against public order and public morals; crimes against persons, personal liberty and security; and crimes against property, chastity and honor.

As Saint Paul enunciated, we should know how to possess and guard our own lives in sanctification and honor. This simply means that we walk through the highway of holiness where no unclean thing lingers, no destruction nor devourer lurks, and we will not go astray. Walking through this pathway means that we should never passionately lust for power or anything contrary to God’s commandment. We will not take advantage of and defraud our fellow people. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. So, when we live a life of holiness, God’s beauty and glory will continue to radiate through us. Peace, contentment, security, protection and gladness will always flourish. This is the real beauty in us, the beauty of His holiness. Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit to lead and help us live a holy life. (Jesus V. Sison, CRFV)