When someone asks me, “What does it mean that God is holy?” I often pause for a moment, because this is one of the deepest mysteries of our faith. It’s a question that rises from a heart longing to know who God really is. And the beautiful truth is that whenever we ask about God’s holiness, we’re really asking how He draws near in love.
When Scripture says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord”—a cry we hear in Isaiah’s vision—it’s telling us something beyond human language. God’s holiness is His very otherness, His purity, His radiant goodness that has no shadow in it. It means there is nothing false, nothing selfish, nothing dark within Him. Everything He does flows from perfect love. When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, he heard, “Take off your sandals, for the place you stand is holy ground.” Holiness is simply the presence of God — a presence that burns but does not destroy.
The Church teaches that God’s holiness is not something distant or severe. It is His love made pure and powerful, a love that shines into the world to heal and restore. When Jesus walked among us, touching the sick and forgiving sinners, He showed us what God’s holiness looks like with a human face. Holiness is not cold perfection — it is a love that stoops down to lift us up.
And this holiness is not meant to stay far above us. In Baptism, God places His own life within our hearts, so that we can become “holy as He is holy.” That doesn’t mean we never fail; it means we let God shape us. Every time we choose kindness instead of anger, forgiveness instead of bitterness, truth instead of comfort — His holiness grows in us. It is the slow, quiet work of grace.
So when you think about the holiness of God, think of a light that is pure, gentle, and strong — a light that welcomes you, transforms you, and calls you deeper into love. Let this be your prayer today: that His holiness may not only surround you, but live within you.
May the Holy One draw your heart close, and may His light guide each step you take.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
