One recent morning at Costco, I watched a lady tear into a pallet of disinfectant wipes as though they were the most valuable thing in the world. She distributed packages to each of her children, who had their own shopping carts because of the one-per-person limit. Other shoppers were grabbing from the pallet, too, as I stood back. It was pretty clear that the pandemic panic was far from over.

Not One in Sight

In a world obsessed with goods, especially when they’re scarce, most people are ignoring the most valuable resource of all — holiness. God provides an endless supply if we want it, but it’s rare because we choose not to seek it. The Bible says the Lord searched His creation but found that that no one sought Him with a pure heart and no one was righteous (Ps. 14, Ps. 53, Rom. 3:10). God can see everyone everywhere, yet He couldn’t find anyone seeking holiness. I’m sure He currently sees many of us seeking other things.

Rare Commodity

And I’m not claiming to be exempt from that statement. This writer certainly doesn’t have a pure heart. That’s why I had to give mine to God. I can’t produce holiness on my own. If I’m honest, I’d rather have made a snide remark to the disinfectant-wipe lady. I’m not making light of her situation. I really don’t know what she was dealing with. I’m just explaining what my fleshly response would instinctively be, revealing my own corrupt heart. Because none of us are righteous without Jesus, none of us can produce holiness without His Holy Spirit living inside of us. Ironically, the Holy Spirit, the source of holiness, lives in every believer. Why, then, is the light of holiness so rare in a world that’s so dark? Are we as determined to seek this precious “commodity” as we should be?

Let the Crowd Gather

I got one of the last packages of disinfectant wipes at the store, after the crowd dispersed, but I got a more important view of the darkness of hopelessness and fear and the severe shortage of light and holiness. As believers, we have unlimited and irrevocable access to God and the strengthening and peace available through the Holy Spirit. We should be grasping at that as though our lives depended on it.

In this day, I pray that the Lord would help us pursue the good works He has prepared for us, so that the world will witness a shift where precious holiness and light would no longer be so rare. And Lord, let the crowd gather to see it.