Contagious Holiness

We can sometimes feel demoralised by the state of the world, and rightly so. We are exposed to far more than ever before. The disasters that routinely strike around the globe, the wars and threats of wars that seem ever-present, the desperate cruelty and evil of humanity seen in the worst of crimes – all these things find their way into our social feeds and news reports on a daily basis.

Trying to live faithfully in a broken world can sometimes feel overwhelming and even self-defeating. It can feel all-too-much, like our efforts are too small and our voices are too quiet.

It is true that there are dark places in the world. That terrible things happen, to both good and bad people. That, on any given day, the powers that be could decide to press that small, red button, hidden somewhere in an undisclosed location, and plunge the world into nuclear war.

And the truth is that we were never meant to carry the weight of the world on our own shoulders.

Yet we know in the midst of all this chaos and confusion, the Sovereign God reigns in the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:17, 25, 32). Kings may rise and fall, empires may come and go, but God’s authority is constant and higher than any earthly rule.

For now, humanity thinks it is master of its own destiny but there will come a day, when the King will return, and heaven will come crashing in.

The end is not oblivion but renewal. Light has shone in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. We have this hope – this assurance – for the future.

But that is then. What about now?

A Little Leaven…

I’ve thought a lot about the reality of social contagion since the global experience that was the Covid-19 pandemic. The world experienced an unprecedented pandemic, not seen since the influenza outbreak of 1918, which similarly swept across the globe with devastating effect. And while Covid-19’s impact varied drastically between countries and regions, it still affected the entire world. Covid19 was a real thing, with severe consequences felt in many places, and the flow-on effect felt everywhere.

But during Covid-19, we experienced a contagion of a different kind too – fear, distrust, and greed. It was astonishing how quickly neighbour turned on neighbour, how something as simple as a trip to the local grocery store could be fraught with tension, or even the threat of verbal abuse and physical tussles over supplies. How quickly people turned to stockpiling the necessities, even if it meant others would go without.

It’s said that a person’s character isn’t formed in adversity, only displayed – and how true this is. Contagion is a powerful thing. We only need to look to history to see how easily we, as a species, can be caught up in the wave of a negative contagion, becoming less human in the process – more reactive, more self-protective, and less inclined to compassion.

A little leaven leavens the lump. Just as a small amount of yeast affects the entire batch of dough, a small influence – whether good or bad – can spread and affect a whole community, mindset, or situation.

We tend to think of contagion in a negative sense, and not without good reason. But what if it can also be positive? What if we can be contagious in a different way – not with fear or selfishness, but with courage, kindness, and hope?

What if, instead of disillusionment, panic, or hopeless spreading through the crowd, it was compassion, generosity, and a compelling, vibrant, hopefulness for the future?

As Christians, do we believe the good news we have to offer the world is truly good news? And are we convinced that it’s good news not just for tomorrow, but also for today? Do we realise that we can make a difference – for good – in the world? And if we do, how do we actively choose to bring contagious holiness to those around us?

jesus was holiness

Everywhere that Jesus went, dead things came to life. He didn’t just do holiness, he was holy. As Lance Ralston, lead pastor at Calvary Chapel Oxnard, and podcast host of ‘Communio Sanctorum: History of the Christian Church’, comments, “New Testament holiness enhances life, it never diminishes it. This is what Jesus modelled so well and it’s why genuine seekers of God were drawn to him. Simply put, he was attractive.“

Now, I’m certainly not suggesting we can attain to the same level of holiness and life-giving presence that Jesus had. He was unique – fully God and fully man, set apart in every way.

But he tells his followers that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” – bearers of the great ministry of reconciliation between God and humanity, which he came to inaugurate.

In the same way that Jesus breathed life into dead things, his followers are to replicate this hopefulness and purpose, to be the lens through which the world meets and comes to know Jesus. Indeed, for his followers to pray ‘Your Kingdom come’ is to commit themselves to becoming part of the answer.

As author and theologian N.T. Wright puts it,

“Our task as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to a world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to a world that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion…

The gospel of Jesus points us and indeed urges us to be at the leading edge of the whole culture, articulating in story and music and art and philosophy and education and poetry and politics and theology and even–heaven help us–Biblical studies, a worldview that will mount the historically-rooted Christian challenge to both modernity and postmodernity, leading the way…with joy and humor and gentleness and good judgment and true wisdom. 

I believe if we face the question, “if not now, then when?” if we are grasped by this vision we may also hear the question, “if not us, then who?” And if the gospel of Jesus is not the key to this task, then what is?”

Christians are to be social contagions – bearers of holiness in all its hope and beauty, like salt, like stars…

What does it mean to ‘be salt’?

Salt was valuable in the ancient world – not just for flavour, but for preservation. When Jesus called his followers the salt of the earth, he wasn’t handing out a nice compliment. He was giving a challenge. “You’re meant to preserve what is good. You’re meant to bring flavour, truth, and life to a world that would rot without it.” It’s a call to be deeply present and powerfully different.

Followers of Jesus aren’t meant to retreat, to hunker down in isolation and solitude, living out our faith in echo chambers of our own making, but rather, to press forward boldly and courageously into the world. To live lives full of goodness. To be preserving agents – slowing decay, holding the line, and pointing to something better.

You are the Light of the World

And what does it mean to be ‘the light of the world’?

We are not the light – but we bear it. We are not the King, but we follow him.

We carry the light of Christ – the treasure of the gospel – in ordinary, fragile lives. Jars of clay. Cracked. Human. Flawed. And yet, that’s the whole point. The light shines through the cracks. So that no one mistakes where the power comes from.

Our light isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about faithfulness – letting the glory of God shine through weakness, so others find their way in the dark. Sometimes its in great acts of bravery and bold public witness. Other times, it’s in the million small, seemingly insignificant choices – the kind that no one sees.

But in the Kingdom of God, small things matter, just as much as the big things.

Contagious Holiness

Nothing we do in the name of the King, in the realm of the Kingdom of God, is ever wasted. Every act of love and service, every word of truth – seen and unseen – is woven into the fabric of something far greater than ourselves. They are the seeds of the coming Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God – both now and not yet – is breaking into this world and we are part of its vanguard, called to carry its message, to live out its values in a world that hasn’t fully seen it yet. 

This kingdom life is shown in the small moments – in resistence in the face of hopelessness, in goodness in the face of evil. It moves through the Spirit of God working in the hearts and through the hands of those who are willing, who are faithful, and who recognise the immense value of contagious holiness.

So take heart. Don’t step away from the fray. You aren’t responsible for everything but you can step into what is right in front of you, with hopefulness and purpose. Your faithfulness matters. Your courage matters.

The Kingdom is coming. Yes, the world is broken in many ways, the hearts of many grow weak in fear. We often see injustice, division, and darkness all around – but none of it has the final word. For the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. We have the privilege of reflecting that light, of carrying goodness, and speaking life where its most needed.

So we live with hope, and with a posture of contagious holiness. We live with purpose – not because everything is perfect, but because Jesus is King, and his Kingdom is coming, on earth as it is in heaven.