A God of Distinction - Leviticus 22:31-32

"You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy." Previously in this chapter, God explained to the people of Israel that when they made an offering to Him with an animal sacrifice, the animal must be without any defects. In other words, their worship must be deliberate and honest because God is holy. Worshiping a holy God required their worship to be true and without pretense and the best way to ensure that was to offer an animal without any kind of physical defect. A defective animal could be one they likely needed to dispose of in order to maintain the integrity of their herds and so no personal sacrifice would be necessary. Their offering would be meaningless--an empty ritual. Interaction with God requires meaningful and deliberate participation from us because He is not just any god, He is the holy God! We did not create Him; He created us. Therefore, God is distinct from His creation and His creation worships Him. The only way we can approach God to have this meaningful interaction is if we ourselves are holy. But holiness is not something we can attain; it is imputed by God Who is holy. Once imparted upon us, however, holiness is something we maintain by putting God's commands into practice!