"Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade her. - Joel 3:17 (NIV)

God always seeks out people that are holy and special to him. Being a special child of God has nothing to do with being perfect. Ever read the book of John and thought the disciple whom Jesus loved was a bit much? He pleased Jesus so much that He characterized himself as the one whom Jesus loved. He makes it seem as though Jesus did not love the rest as much as he did this disciple. 

It's interesting to note that his characterization of being the beloved disciple of Jesus turned him to be one that loved Jesus so much. It's almost as though his speech turned him into the person he professed to be; the one whom Jesus loved. He is one of the few disciples that remained with Jesus in His final moments. 

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman,[] here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. - John 19:25-27 (NIV)

Four people remained with Jesus until He finally died. And the disciple, whom Jesus loved was there. The disciples that should have been there were no where to be found. Everybody had spread out and Peter, who said he'd be with Jesus through thick and thin, missed out on one of the biggest moments of Jesus' life.

I just want to point out that Jesus was man as He was God. I want to make an analogy that makes more sense. Let's pick out one Avenger whose character might help us in depicting Jesus as both God and man. Of course, I have scriptures that reveal His being man and God in one body. Let me try my analogy. And hopefully, we all understand. 

Thor is a god of thunder in a human body. He feels pain, despite having so much power. There were many times when we saw in the movies (If you have watched Thor or the Avengers) how Thor truly was a god but at the same time, his humanness affected him. He ate. He slept. He got tired. In one of the latest movies of the Avengers, he was even depressed to the point of gaining a little extra weight. To most of us, that might have been disappointing. I was a little used to muscular Thor, but now we had pot-belly Thor! (I am really sorry if you haven't watched the movie). 

Jesus. He is God in a man. And in His final moments, He wanted to be close with those that He spent most of His time with. Jesus knew He'd be betrayed. He knew He'd be sold out and yet, His attitude towards his disciples never changed one bit. Do you know why Jesus was the beloved son of God? Do you know what got him that title? If you must know, Jesus did all the things that God the Father wanted Him to do. 

When He said it was finished. He wasn't pronouncing His own death, He boldly declared that He had run the race and everything that He needed to do, He did. Everything He needed to go through, He went through. He was now at the finish line. The way He lived and all He did was to represent God on earth as the Son that dethroned Himself of glory, just to settle among common man. 

Why should we be holy? Holiness makes us special to God. Being holy is being reserved and living like Jesus lived. Holiness is not a mere attribute of christian livelihood; holiness lies in the person of Jesus. When you look through scripture, God chose just one person. After the scandal in the garden of Eden. He just wanted one person. He chose Noah. After years passed, Abraham came on to the scene. Then Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. Moses. Joshua. All these people were holy and were the only ones willing to live for God. That separated them from everyone else. 

 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. - Psalm 45:7 (NIV)

When God calls us to holiness. He opens up a chance to draw closer to Him. The bible says, "You love righteousness and hate wickedness. The bible tells us we have been set above others and God anoints us with joy. How beautiful holiness is! 

Father, make us holy. We are here to please you and you alone. Guide our hearts and lead us into the path of righteousness that you may choose us. Again and again. This we ask in prayer. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. 

PS: In honor of the late Ravi Zacharias. Thank you Ravi for being awesome and for giving people like me reasons to love God.