A Lesson From Lava About God's Holiness

A couple of years ago, I visited the Island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island. When I got off the plane, I expected to see a beautiful, tropical green island full of amazing plants. Instead, I saw miles of black lava fields. The island was formed from an underwater volcano and continues to grow as lava flows over the land and runs into the ocean. When lava flows, it burns up every grass, shrub, vine, and tree in its path, leaving behind a thick layer of hardened rock. 

 

While exploring the island, we visited Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park while Kilauea was erupting. Since Kilauea is the most active volcano on the island, park rangers monitor its activity and close the park if needed. From an observation deck a mile from the crater, we watched glowing red lava turn dark as it cooled. It was beautiful to see. We could only imagine how hot the lava would be because we couldn’t feel it from that distance.

 

Stopping at the visitor’s station, we noticed a metal grate covering a volcanic vent. This vent was not a source of lava, but steam. The steam was produced when rainwater reached magma-heated rocks. It was difficult to stand near the vent for very long because the heat was so intense. Now we know that we never want to get very close to lava.

 

Like lava that burns the plants in its path, our God is like a fire that burns away all that is evil. Scripture speaks of God as a refining fire, purifying us. Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We should worship God in a way that pleases him with respect and fear, because our God is like a fire that burns things up.”

 

God is holy, which means he is perfect and will not tolerate sin. There are angels in Heaven that never cease to say “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). When we join the angels in saying, "Holy, holy, holy," we are giving God our reverence and awe, for he is holy and powerful.

 

When God looks at his followers, he sees Jesus’s holiness. Everything that we have done wrong is covered and forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Now that we are his children, God calls us to be separate from the ways of the world and to live a life of holiness (1 Peter 2:9). 

“Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin.” 1 Corinthians 1:30

Dear God, help me to choose to follow you and to resist evil. Thank you for being holy, and that Jesus’s blood covers my sin.

Fun Fact:

Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983. Since the land directs the lava to the ocean in a predictable way, people can live on the island.   

By The Natural Theology Project