Religion Gets Holiness Wrong
As usual, its box is too small.
"I cover the divine flame in my heart, for if I turned God loose from my house the earth would reveal to your eyes what mine always see—existence is a lamp and Kabir, the oil it burns." — Kabir
Religious people make a fuss over how holiness is supposed to look. They construct great lists of do's and don’ts that, if followed in just the right way, prove to all that you are righteous.
But holiness is simply living near God, right? "The nearness of God is my good.” Well, then, how can there be just one way to be intimate with God? For God is infinite, and we are each unique.
God gives us hints about this all over the place. What is the intimacy of an eagle with the Divine One when she flies? What is her holiness in those moments above the clouds? And how is that compared to the intimacy of an elephant as he flings the African dust upon his back, or a 3,000 year old tree as her roots draw life from the depths of the earth? You think these creatures don't know God? I tell you, we could study at their feet for decades and never come to the end of all they know of Him.
There is no one way to be intimate with God. There are myriad, each one more mysterious and spectacular than the last. There is the servant with his Master, the warrior with his Great Captain, the sheep with her Shepherd, the child with her Mother, the young man with his Mentor, the king with the High King, the friend with her Sister, the beloved with his Lover, embraced.
You think a dress code can contain all of that? You think the height and depth and width and breadth of all of that sensual magnificence can be summed up in a vow to refrain from using colorful language?
Absurd.
You are the oil from which the lamp of God burns. You are life unleashed—beautiful, wild, captivating and free—His art, come to life and made for love.
Who can say what your holiness will be?
All I know is when you draw near to Him, you burn. And that unique fire lights the universe, and shows us all over again who He really is.
