You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (NIV)

When you were a kid, did you have that one precious toy that NOBODY else could play with or touch? For me, it was a very ragged stuffed dog that I found in my neighbor’s trash can. Yup, this thing was meant to be disposed of, but I just fell in love with it. It was dirty, missing most of its stuffing, and really just kind of an ugly little thing, but I LOVED it dearly. My mom wanted to get rid of it, but I wouldn’t let her (although I did eventually let her wash it).  

‍

I remember the feelings I had for that ragged little dog. How I would put it in a special place every night (generally stuck under my chin so I could hug its pathetically thin little body), and I would wake up looking for it. I carried it around with me everywhere I went. Man, did I love that thing. And you know what? I still have it.  

‍

I think God hugs and treasures us like that. We are ragged, dirty, meant to be disposed of (if the enemy had his way), but God loves us and holds us like I did that scruffy little stuffed animal. Why? Because he has set us apart. He has called us his own.

In our verse today, God is talking to the Israelites. In order for them to be able to come close to God, they had to atone for their sin – they had to make it right. And the only way to do that was through the death of an animal, a sacrifice. I once heard a Bible scholar teach that where there is sin, there is death. Throughout the entire Bible, when there is sin, there is a death that follows – either through the sacrifice of an atoning animal or through a person’s death.  

‍

In our current age, as followers of Jesus, we no longer need animal sacrifices. Thank you, Jesus! But we still need atonement, fixing of our sin. We need to be made right so we can stand before a Holy God. From the very beginning, God had a plan for that. The ancient, sacrificial system of killing an animal was a temporary fix. He knew that he would fix it once for all through the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb on the cross. Jesus paid the debt that we could never, ever hope to pay. We are all broken, ragged, and dirty apart from Jesus. But when we accept the sacrifice, the unbearable price that Jesus paid for us on the cross, we become whole, washed, and beautiful in his eyes. We become set apart and holy in God’s eyes.  

‍

You see, forgiveness – being right with God – is not something we could ever achieve on our own. I’m so thankful that I have no power or say in my redemption because surely, I would mess it up. But when I surrender my life, offer up my sin, and walk in the light of my Savior, Jesus, I no longer have to worry I’m not good enough, whole enough, clean enough. I am enough simply because Jesus says I am.  

‍

In my eyes, that ugly little stuffed dog was one of the greatest things I had ever seen, a beautiful creation – we are that beautiful creation in the eyes of the Master of the Universe. And that is just the beginning – because once he has forgiven our sins and made us right, then he can begin to restore us to who we were created to be. What a beautiful reality that is for those of us in Christ.  

‍

We are to be holy because he is holy – and that is exactly what Jesus has done for us – made us holy!! Praise Jesus!

Father God, I pray we each take some time to consider who we were before the saving grace of your son, Jesus. Thank you for all that you are and all that you have done. Thank you for forgiving me through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus to be made holy and set apart for you. Thank you that the work is done and you have made me a NEW creation with purpose. Amen!