When Our Holiness is Tested: "It All Counts"

Being true to who God made you to be means prioritizing holiness.

Oct 23, 2024

In a recent episode (Episode #36, Catholic Fairy Tales), I dove into the importance of holiness in our lives and at the end of our lives. Being the person that God made you to be—being ‘who he thought up’ before placing you in your mother’s womb—requires prioritizing holiness over everything else.

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Holiness: The Ultimate Measure

Being holy is fundamentally crucial. While orthodoxy is significant, it’s not enough on its own. When we face judgment, God isn’t going to measure our lives by how orthodox we were. Instead, it’s our holiness that will ultimately be evaluated—that’s what gets us through the gates of heaven.

Everything you do, good or bad, and how earnestly you lived your life plays a role in this ‘measurement.’ But in the end, it boils down to your level of holiness.

Boxing: A Parallel to Holiness

Let me illustrate this with a comparison from my personal experience while I was boxing. One thing I appreciated about boxing was that every single thing counts. A boxer isn’t the sum of his successes. He is the sum of his total experiences. His rising, falling, successes, failures, efforts—blood sweat and tears. Every punch absorbed, every drop of sweat shed in the gym, every moment of pain and fatigue endured—all these efforts contribute to who you are when you step into the ring. Every fight, every setback, and every triumph add to the total of who your opponent faces in the ring. The same concept applies to our journey as Christians. Every part of our lives, every success and failure, contributes to who we are when we stand before Jesus—just like stepping into a boxing ring. Jesus doesn’t just note your failures, he also notes your successes, as well as your efforts and your failure to make an effort. It all counts at judgement. The whole of who you are is tested.

Facing Judgment

In the end, our goal is not judgment itself but what lies beyond it—heaven (or hell, God forbid!). When you stand before Jesus, it’s akin to a fighter stepping into the ring, where everything you’ve lived will be accounted for. Everything weighs in at that moment: your actions, your holiness, and your journey as a faithful follower. In conclusion, understanding that it all counts is vital. Our everyday struggles, efforts, and moments of perseverance all matter. They shape who we are and the holiness we embody. Understanding that should urge us to embrace our journey and strive for holiness in every aspect of our lives