Committed to Holiness

By Joel Repic

There are times when I wish God would just:

1. Give me all the information I need to do urban ministry effectively – sort of like a massive file I could just download into my brain.
2. Erase all of my inadequacies so I could do urban ministry effectively.
3. Teach me how to do urban ministry without me having to take the time to learn from mistakes.

It should go without saying that God has not miraculously done these things for me as earnestly as I might have prayed for them to happen. I know God does not work this way. He is not some machine to which I can go up to, press a button, and receive something good from (although I know I act like a consumer sometimes when it comes to God). God works within His relationship with me, and this explains why the three things above don’t happen so quickly.

When I first arrived in Aliquippa a year ago, I was absolutely full of excitement and zeal about our work in this town. I still feel excited and zealous; it’s just that I have been surprised at the biggest obstacle to further success in ministry – myself! I don’t know everything there is to know about urban ministry. I am inadequate. I do make mistakes, am humiliated by them, and have to learn from them. I know somewhere deep inside this is all good for me, but I wish God could take this all away for the sake of the people I serve. For their sake, why can’t He just automatically make me an urban ministry guru, know-it-all, super pastor?

The answer of course, is that God’s point of view is much larger in scope than mine. God is absolutely committed to the redemption of the people of Aliquippa. He is concerned for them and compassionate for them. But Aliquippa’s redemption is not the only work God is concerned about. He is also concerned about my holiness. In fact, He is utterly committed to my holiness – even jealous for my devotion. And He will do whatever it takes to see it come to pass.

That thought at first seems like such a great terror to me. I know my sins, and God will do anything to see me absolutely free from them – He will even do painful things if necessary. But upon further reflection, I realize that God’s commitment to my holiness is really a great promise and consolation. To think that the Creator loves me enough to discipline me! Holiness is freedom from sin, and God paid a heavy price to see His children experience that freedom.

Here’s the thing – God knows that work needs to get done in Aliquippa. He sees the needs and knows the people more than I ever could. In fact, He has been working in Aliquippa longer than I have. He also understands that I need to become holy – that I need to reach heights of holiness never before attained. That holiness will be given at times through the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in dramatic ways – much like a fire might quickly burn up a dead forest. But many times, the Spirit makes me more holy in the day to day experiences of work in Aliquippa. When I have to admit that I don’t know everything about urban ministry so I have to trust in God, I am becoming more holy. When I have to admit that I can’t change people so I have to trust in God to do the changing, I become more holy. When I try a new ministry idea and it utterly fails and I feel humiliated, I become more holy because pride is being choked to death. These things are painful, but they are fertile ground for holiness.

So all of this places me in an interesting situation. God is in the work of making Aliquippa a holy place. Simultaneously, He is in the work of making me a holy person. I guess I’m not that different from the people I serve after all.

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