Have you ever asked God for something? We all have asked for patience, strength, help, or healing. We were taught that whenever we ask for something in the name of God, we will receive it. Often, our prayers are not answered the way we expected, or even at all. We are frustrated, disappointed in religion, or we give up asking.

What about God? He wants something from us. We don’t really think about this, though. What do you think God does when he doesn’t get a response from us? After all, we are ego-centric human beings. We live our lives thinking it is all about me. But our Father in heaven doesn’t stop asking.

When we were first created, our relationship with God was pure. Life in the Garden was perfect. Until that single act of betrayal, we had ignored the importance of our relationship with God. With that one single act, we destroyed the ability to be in the presence of God. God cannot be in the presence of sin. So, we were disenfranchised from our once-perfect relationship with God. We were made in God’s image. Now that image is tarnished.

God still wants a relationship with us. If we wish to have any relationship with God, we must be interested in what He expects from that relationship. In order to have a relationship with God, we are called to be Holy, as He is Holy. In the Exodus, God was creating a way to rebuild that relationship. He made a covenant with us to allow us to reconnect. In ancient times, a covenant was a contract between a king and the people. The king would provide protection, and the people would pay the king tribute. God, our king, begins his covenant with the people of Israel by letting them know how much he loves them and all that he has done for them. In Exodus 19:4-5, we read of the love he has for us: “He bore you on eagle wings and brought you to myself.” The expectation was that they must also obey him.

God wants to have a relationship with us. We need to understand what it means to be holy. Some people today believe it is impossible to be perfect, so why even try? What we need to understand is that holiness is about our relationship with God. This is where we are to assume the character of God in our hearts, minds, and spirits. It is much more than just words. It is in our actions. As the hymn says :

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

abide in Him always, and feed on His word.

Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,

forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Author: William D. Longstaff (ca. 1882)