Deuteronomy 14:17-21: a reflection

17the pelican, the vulture, the cormorant, 18the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19All winged creeping things are unclean to you. They shall not be eaten. 20Of all clean birds you may eat. 21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

At the end of the laws about clean and unclean foods, God gives the reason underlying them all: You are a holy people to the LORD your God. The many distinctions the people were to observe were not arbitrary rules; they flowed from an identity: the people were holy, set apart as God's own, and so they were to live distinctly, in a way that reflected who they were. Their conduct flowed from their identity; they lived set apart because they were a holy people, belonging to God. The identity came first, and the conduct followed from it.

Notice the order: you are a holy people, therefore you shall live so. The conduct was not a way of becoming holy, of earning the status; it flowed from a status already given, an identity already theirs. They were a holy people, belonging to God, set apart as his; and because they were, they were to live distinctly, reflecting who they were. The identity grounded the conduct: not live this way in order to become God's, but you are God's, therefore live this way. Their distinct life was the expression of an identity already given, not the means of earning one.

That order is worth taking to heart, for our conduct too flows from who we are in God, not the other way around. We can think of holy living as a way of earning God's favor, of making ourselves acceptable; but for Israel, the holy living flowed from an identity already given: you are a holy people, therefore live so. In Christ, we are made God's own, set apart as his; and our conduct flows from that identity, expressing who we are, not earning what we already have. Do not think of holy living as a way of earning your standing with God; you are made his in Christ, and your conduct flows from that identity. Live set apart because of who you are in God, a holy people belonging to him, letting your conduct flow from your identity rather than trying to earn it, as God grounded Israel's distinct life in the truth that they were a holy people to him; for our identity as God's own comes first, and holy living is its expression, not its price.

Lord, at the end of the laws about clean and unclean foods, you give the reason underlying them all: you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The many distinctions the people were to observe were not arbitrary rules; they flowed from an identity: the people were holy, set apart as your own, and so they were to live distinctly, in a way that reflected who they were. Their conduct flowed from their identity. Show me the order: you are a holy people, therefore you shall live so. The conduct was not a way of becoming holy, of earning the status; it flowed from a status already given, an identity already theirs. They were a holy people, belonging to you, set apart as yours; and because they were, they were to live distinctly. The identity grounded the conduct: not live this way in order to become yours, but you are mine, therefore live this way. Take that order to my heart, for my conduct too flows from who I am in you, not the other way around. I can think of holy living as a way of earning your favor, of making myself acceptable; but for Israel, the holy living flowed from an identity already given. In Christ, I am made your own, set apart as yours; and my conduct flows from that identity, expressing who I am, not earning what I already have. Keep me from thinking of holy living as a way of earning my standing with you; I am made yours in Christ, Lord. Help me live set apart because of who I am in you, a holy person belonging to you, letting my conduct flow from my identity rather than trying to earn it.