Be Holy

As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 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.”
(1 Peter 1:14-16)

Meditation

Before I knew Jesus was who he said he was, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what I needed to be happy, but I was wrong. I looked upon following Christ as trying to obey a bunch of suffocating rules to ruin my desired lifestyle. I looked at religion in general and Christianity in particular, as just a list of don’ts; don’t do this and don’t do that. I thought what I was doing was making me happy, but I was ignorant of what Jesus could mean to my happiness. Everything I ever did on my own to be happy only lasted a few hours, maybe a day or two at best. Happiness for me now, rests in my relationship with Jesus.
When I was finally told and believed the truth about Christ’s love, who he was when he walked the earth, and who he is to this day, I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to him. However, I mistakenly believed that being holy meant I had to be perfect. That, of course, is impossible for me or for anyone, so for a long time, I thought I was a lousy Christian. Then I realized, it doesn’t say, ‘be perfect, because I am perfect.’ God knows we cannot ever be perfect, but he doesn’t excuse us from doing the best we can. He’s not asking for perfection, he’s asking for dedication to him.
Part of being holy is remembering what my redemption cost. I was bought at a very high price. If I’m always taking for granted the value of my salvation, I will never achieve the goal of being holy. Holiness is not getting saved, then sitting in a church pew every Sunday. Holiness is being filled with the desire to be like Christ, even when I fail. It’s turning my back on my old life, even when parts of my old life might seem to be desirable. If I’m honest with myself, I know I was an empty shell before Jesus saved me. He poured his love into me so deeply, I now feel compelled to share it with everyone.
Although I know I cannot be perfect, I can be holy because I have been purified in the truth of Jesus. He took my cold, empty, and dead heart and gave me a brand new one, filled with love for others. I am reborn, not to perish once again in everlasting punishment but to be restored to the Father and live with him forever. Because I do my best to be like Christ, who drew unbelievers to him because of his holiness, I know I can be called holy too. I am never going to be perfect, but I can be holy in Christ, because he is holy.




Prayer Time

Father God, you have given us the greatest news the world has ever known. It’s not just the written words of the Apostles and other authors of the scriptures. It’s the actions of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for providing us a path to salvation by washing our sins clean in the blood of Jesus. You have commanded us to be holy, and in our zeal to follow you, we are obeying that command. There is no way for us to be holy in any way without our focus being on Jesus. Just like a small child looks up to their parent and tries to emulate them, help us to look to Jesus and try to love like he did. Strengthen our resolve not to return to the sinful lives we lived before you saved us. Make serving you by our dedication to the poor and helpless people around, the most important thing to us. Help us, Lord, to always be steadfast, dedicated followers of Christ and share this good news. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

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