I'm rereading Jim Packer's book A Passion for Holiness, a book that had a big impact on me when I was a student at LST. The idea that holiness is not ethereal, it's not about hair shirts and no sex (was it Richard Foster who put it like that?) has really caught my attention. Packer says holiness is essentially about becoming more human. He writes:
Genuine holiness is genuine Christ-likeness and genuine Christ-likeness is genuine humanness - the only genuine humnanness there is. Love in the service of God and others, humility and meekness under the divine hand, integrity of behaviour expressing integration of character, wisdom with faithfulness, boldness with prayerfulness, sorrow at people's sins, joy at the Father's goodness and single mindedness in seeking to please the Father morning, noon and night, were all qualities seen in Christ, the perfect man. Christians are meant to become human as Jesus was human.
Holiness....becoming more like Jesus, becoming more authentically human, becoming more alive!
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