By Deborah H. Rabern

Four-letter words offend me and arouse my anger or disdain. Sometimes they shock me. However, one four-letter word frightens me. It rears up out of the biblical text as soul-stopping as a spitting cobra. Holy - a word almost framed in neon, unavoidable.

The narrative of Genesis tells us the story of creation and then leads us through gentle, progressive revelations of God from Adam to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first speed bump indicating trouble may be ahead is a voice emanating from a fiery bush.

Take off your shoes, Moses. Don't come any closer. You're on holy ground. As if a voice from a fire on the back side of the desert wasn't enough, God proceeds to introduce Himself. Moses, terrified to look at God, hides his face. The unveiling of God's holiness has begun.

Throughout Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God reveals Himself as holy and instructs His chosen nation on how to acknowledge that holiness. Careful attention is paid to detail: how to keep the Sabbath, the emphasis on the priesthood and vestments, the articles of worship, distinguishing between clean and unclean, holy and unholy.

Being set apart, dedicated to God and consecrated for worship, service, sacrifice, and a lifestyle of purity are concepts I can understand. Once we belong to God, this is reasonable. However, both the Old and New Testament repeat our responsibility to be holy.

As works-oriented people, we can imitate Christ with good deeds and turn all our talents to serve the Kingdom of God. We can focus on a list like the Ten Commandments and make the effort to stick with the program. We can memorize the rules and train ourselves to obey them, but that doesn't change our heart. That was the whole issue with the priests and Pharisees. They adhered to a rigid set of rules but had no room for a compassionate heart. No one wants an imitation Jesus, but we crave relationships with those who exude love, compassion and service like Jesus.

Being a holy person translates to more than outward style. Many people follow a set of rules that govern outward appearance: length of hair or beard, hats, long sleeves, ankle-length skirts, subdued colors, no make-up. Other regulations may require specified times of assembly or determine the number of wives allowed, whether or not to use electricity and the type of education provided by the community. Following the rules guarantees your entrance ticket to Heaven. However, my Bible doesn't make it that easy. It commands me to be "holy."

The Bible slashes to the ground any pitiful ambition that we can succeed by our own efforts. It lets us know we are a construction zone. Haul out the orange and white striped barrels; put up flashing amber lights; install a sign warning: "Be careful, my Daddy works here."

We're raw material, selected for God's purpose, not for any gift or talent or buy-in that we bring. Christ Jesus gave us grace before the beginning of time to be like Him. It's about our Creator. He's sculpting us, not as faint imitations of Himself, but carriers of His Light and Life Force. We aren't puppets or clowns. Each of us are destined to display our miniscule portion of the infinite variety of God to a skeptical world.

Those who aspire to live by a holy standard don't fall apart into a foaming-at-the-mouth rage when they are cut off in traffic or when the cashier appears to have just beamed in from another galaxy. Holy people don't vent their rage and bitterness on the closest target no matter what the provocation. They don't cave in to bitterness when life crashes over them like the running of the bulls. They don't slander those who do them wrong or pretend to be a poster child for righteousness.

They dress appropriately with modesty, avoid rudeness, disrespect and improper language. They focus on pleasing the Lord, even when they're not in the mood, even when it's inconvenient. Their motives are pure and their hearts are clean. I dream of reaching the bar that is set so high. My daily downfalls are a bad attitude and a snarky subtext in my mind, stomping all over the grace in my path. But grace is always accessible. A geyser of grace erupts from Heaven and cascades an endless supply sufficient for all our inadequacies.  Grace to overcome fear and failure. Grace to choose good instead of evil. Grace to be holy.

We have the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit of God to guide and reside in us. He insists that we behave in a manner that exemplifies all the virtues of holiness. According to scripture, God sent the Holy Spirit to teach us and prompt us to remember what Christ taught. It sounds suspiciously like a conscience. When we violate the principles of Christian love, faithfulness, justice, peace, righteousness, forgiveness, gentleness, and self-control, we feel uneasy. When I haven't lived up to Christian standards, shame and guilt overshadow me and nag until I repent.

Some days I feel as if I've milked the grace cow dry. Some days I survive better than when the bulls have mowed me down and trampled me into the cobblestones. Some days I remember my fellow dwellers on this planet are in their own construction zone. The hard part is dealing with the truth that it's not all about me and the dirt and noise and exposure of my own painful reconstruction. Finding the compassion to climb over my own rickety barricade and limp over to another worksite to offer a word of encouragement and comfort never fails to open a keg of refreshment for us both.

Grace tames fear. We're a work in progress through the activity of the Holy Spirit by the grace and mercy of a righteous Christ. It doesn't collapse under our failures, but rises on the solid framework of His success. Our holiness rests on the bloody shoulders of Jesus. So hand over the hammer and let the Master Builder keep working in your life.

Deborah H. Rabern is a graduate of Georgia State University. She has spoken and taught in assorted venues including churches, parachurch organizations, federal prison and the public school system. In addition, she has been a spokesperson for the National Day of Prayer Committee (Cumberland, MD) and Tri-State Celebration (1999) during her employment with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Email Deborah.