Holy

November 19

Ezekiel 45-46

Psalm 125

Proverbs 27:23-24

I Peter 1:13-25

Holy

“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

I Peter 1:15-16 NIV

Holiness is sometimes confused with piety and arrogance. Christians are often accused of being “holier than thou” and “thinking we are better than everyone else.” That should not be the case. As Christians we recognize our need for God’s grace and mercy and in humility, we choose to obey Him. We are instructed to be holy, not because we are better than others or think that we are above them, but because we desire to please Him with our lives. We are indebted to Him and recognize that “our lives are not our own, but we have been bought with a price and we should honor Him with our bodies.” I Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV) We cannot have an attitude of arrogance because we know that any good we do is because He is living in us giving us the strength and ability to accomplish His purposes. Gratitude and humility result in obedience to His commands and a desire to glorify Him in all that we do.

What does holiness look like in our lives? I think we have to go back to the definition to figure that out. Holiness is apartness, sacredness, and separateness. When the Bible refers to God’s holiness it means that He is separate from us. He is sacred and set apart completely. He is distinct and different from anything or anyone else. He is above all and beyond all. Obviously, we are not capable of that. God is God and we are not. But we are to be set apart. We are to be distinct. We are to be different from the world around us. We are not supposed to blend in. We are supposed to be in the world, but not of it. When people look at us, talk to us, and get to know us, it should be apparent that there is something different about us. Jesus, who is holy, is living inside of us. He makes a difference in our lives. We cannot continue to do the things that we did before He came into our lives. He changes us and sanctifies us. He makes us holy. Holiness is not the same as perfection. God is perfect in all ways. We are not perfect and this side of Heaven we will not be. But we are to be separate and set apart. We have a sacred purpose. We cannot accomplish the things He has planned for us if we are not living our lives in ways that are pleasing to Him. Holiness is a process that begins when we invite Jesus to be the Lord of our lives and continues until we see Him face to face. It is a conscious choice we make daily to obey Him and follow Him instead of giving in to our fleshly desires. May we each strive to be set apart and live lives that reflect the holiness of Christ in a way that others recognize as coming from a grateful and humble heart.