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Ramadan Mubarak, Day 4: Holy and Awesome

How fasting should drive me to the realization of God's holy awesomeness

by Aaron Hamel


I grew up in sunny Southern California, and now I live in the Midwest. Growing up in SoCal meant that you dressed up for church by wearing jeans and a collared shirt. We would say things like, “That burger was awesome dude," meaning that the burger tasted really good. Everything was pretty casual in SoCal including the way I viewed God.

 

After high school I left SoCal and headed for Chicago to go to college. In college, I heard someone talking about the character of God, and how God alone is awesome, meaning awe-inspiring or awe-filled. I grew up seeing God’s handiwork in some of the National Parks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, so I knew how awesome He is and how awesome His creation is. But I also thought that hamburgers were pretty 'awesome', meaning good. Even though I did grow up in SoCal, the idea still stands that God alone is so big that He is in a category by Himself: Awesome.

 

The other day I was reading in my Bible (Tawrat, Exodus 30) about the rules within the Tabernacle (like a mosque or church) and came across a passage that reminded me of the awesomeness of God. It reads:

 

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons [the priests] shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering[d] to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

 

 

I have many Muslim friends who wash before prayer, but none of them have ever said they would die if they did not do it. Yet the God of the Bible is so awesome and holy (set apart) that even the Jewish priests of the ancient Tawrat needed a way to become holy themselves if they were to enter into in God’s presence. As I thought about it more I realized that this is why I fast as well. You see, God’s standard is perfection because He is completely awesome and perfectly holy. How then can I possibly be in an obedient relationship with this holy, awesome God? Well, I need every reminder about getting to God through Christ, including fasting.

 

In the Bible Adam and Eve dwelled with God in the garden, until they committed just one sin and got kicked out. God is completely holy and awesome. He cannot allow even one sin to be in His presence or He would no longer be holy. So, as one who believes in the Bible, I follow a biblical pattern of fasting to remind myself of the need we have for God’s holiness. I fast to teach myself to depend on and trust in God to become holy myself. The Bible says we cannot be holy on our own, but God provides a way through Jesus’s atoning sacrifice. A passage in the Injeel says, “For in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) This means that those who believe in Christ Jesus to take away their sins can be fully alive, and have the holiness of God put on them.

 

Fasting is as much of a position of trust as it is a physical restraint. You see, when I physically restrain from food or water and become hungry and thirsty, I question my motives. If my motivation is only physical or out of duty, I am really self-motivated. However, if my motivation is to become holy, then fasting reminds me how God has made a way through Jesus like He did through the bronze basin for the priests in the tabernacle. God gives us physical symbols to help capture deep spiritual truths.

 

How easy it is to lose sight of God’s ways. I wrongly think I can do it on my own. The desires of my heart begin to elevate myself to God–awesome and holy. So, I personally choose to regularly fast to remind myself that only God is awesome, and He demands that I must be holy to dwell with Him forever. It also reminds me that Jesus is better than any earthly thing or pleasure, including food and drink. How desperately I need that consistent reminder, and how grateful I am that God has provided a clear way to holiness through Jesus!

 

I do miss SoCal, especially in the winter, but God has shown me that He is awesome. I must continue to humble myself through fasting and other spiritual disciplines so I can be reminded of the holy transformation God provides through Jesus Christ.



*If you would like to participate in a Bible study on this subject and similar ones, email us at comparingfaith@gmail.com or text 313.485.7153.

  • 19 May 2018
  • Author: Guest Blogger
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