Free to Live: The Utter Relief of Holiness Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    What we see here is his kindness in spite of the fact that people don’t get him or the purpose of his coming. They aren’t putting their lives in his hands; they’re hoping for some help and that’s it. Jesus is clearly grieved by the fact that these people continue to ask for miracles but have no intention of becoming his followers. Yet he heals for them anyway. His immense goodness is what captures me. He is, after all, the one who said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). He’s probably also the only one who’s ever done it consistently.
    On and on the stories go. Denied and abandoned by Peter, Jesus doesn’t hold it against him. Tortured mercilessly, he says, “Forgive them, Father, they don’t know what they do.” Look, I think I can eventually get around to forgiving people—so long as they ask me to, apologize, and seem genuinely sorry. But Jesus forgives his executors before there’s even a hint of remorse.
    Wouldn’t you love to live like that?
    What you are seeing in any one of these stories is holiness. I think if anyone of us could have known Jesus personally, in that day, we would have loved his company—his ability to navigate difficult situations, to deal with people who didn’t know how to deal with him, engage the opposite sex, take on the religious leaders with the right spirit and attitude. It’s just astounding. One more thing—Jesus isn’t gutting it through life. There is no sense of him gritting his teeth, biting his tongue, none of that internal anguish most of us require to pull this off for a day or two. He is walking through it all with such grace and strength. He is living life as it was meant to be lived.
    That’s the utter relief of holiness.
    And, oh, how utterly attractive it is.
Genuine Goodness Is Captivating
    You can tell a lot about a person by his effect on others. What is he like to be around? What is the aftertaste he leaves in your mouth? Is this someone you’d want to take a long car ride with? We saw Zacchaeus’ reaction. Here are two more, from people quite different from each other and from Zacchaeus:
    One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. (Luke 7:36–38 TM )
    No comment of mine could add to the beauty of this moment. Nor to this one:
    Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution. When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.” The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, “He saved others. Let’s see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!” The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: “So you’re King of the Jews! Save yourself!” Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: “Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!” But the other one made him shut up: “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.” He said, “Don’t worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise.” (Luke 23:32–43 TM )
    What is stunning to see in these brief accounts is that people who knew themselves to be anything but holy found the holiness of Jesus winsome, open-armed, and utterly compelling.
    Is this how you have understood