Be holy as I am holy.

A speaker I heard recently said, "I fear in the postmodern world that we will have relevance without reverence, application without awe." Connecting such a fear to postmodernity puzzled me. Hasn't relevance been the goal of those doing ministry to baby boomers? Wasn't application a specialty of the holiness movement a century ago? Look at the music to see the emphasis. The gospel songs from 100 years ago are testimonies to what is happening in 'my' life.

"I've found a friend in Jesus. He's everything to me. He's the lily of the valley to my soul."

"He brought me out of the miry clay."

"Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters, chained like a slave I struggled in vain... Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom, no more in chains of sin I repine."

"Living by faith, in Jesus alone."

God was the means by which sunshine arrived in my soul. The songs revolved around what salvation/sanctification did for me.

Moving up to the 1970s, we have big spiral-bound books of music dealing with the second coming of Christ, the little flowers who never worry, admonitions to "consider the lily," celebrations of feeling at home in the presence of Jesus, being part of the family of God. Where is the awe? Where the reverence?

It seems to me that the top 25 worship songs today stand in stark contrast in their focus on God Almighty -- "How Great Is Our God," "Holy Is the Lord," "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High," "You Are My King," "God of Wonders," "How Great Thou Art."

Oops. That last one, although it is on the current top 25 list at CCLI, was actually written in 1953. How fitting that the two songs on the list coming to us from previous generations -- "How Great Thou Art" and "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" -- are songs that glorify the greatness of God and His grace.

I'm puzzled as to why the eminent speaker I heard linked a lack of awe and reverence with postmodernity. It disturbs me in that there are plenty of legitimate concerns connected with postmodernity without voicing fear in this area. I think losing sight of the transcendence and majesty of God is a danger in every generation. That danger is always worth keeping in mind. Still, it seems that for now the pendulum has swung more toward the opposite danger of viewing God Almighty as watching us from on high, "from a distance," and not necessarily involved in our daily lives at an intimate level.

This week's WordAction lesson calls us to "Be holy as [God] is holy." Part of the challenge of that statement is to recognize that the holiness of God is part of His transcendence, putting Him far beyond us, and yet to accept the commandment to be holy as humans in a way that reflects the unreachable holiness of God. It's an interesting challenge.