In college my pastor preached a sermon that, since hearing it, has completely changed the way I think. I revisit it often and this week it has been on my mind constantly, so I wanted to share a little bit of its truth with you.
The idea of being ‘holy’ has always been so foreign to me. It was one of those words that as a Christian you’re supposed to understand but no one has ever really stopped to explain it to you. I mean, people throw the word around and pastors preach about it but does anyone really know how to be holy in everyday life? I know I for sure did not.
In 1 Peter 1:15 the Lord says, “Be holy because I am holy.” The message version translates “I am holy; you be holy.” I love how simple and direct that is.
Being holy has to do with being separate. Living a life that contrasts those around you. Jesus most definitely lived a life that made people stop and take notice, and we are called to do the same.
The first part of that life is living separate from sin. For me this was all I used to think holiness was. Staying out of trouble and flying below the radar. My pastor introduced me to this idea of ‘negative goodness,’ – being considered ‘good’ by default just because you weren’t doing anything ‘bad.’ I think hearing that was maybe the first time I had ever felt true conviction in my life. That was me exactly! How did he know??? This made me realize how lame my life was. Who wants to be considered good just cause they’re not bad? That’s such a cop out! Not this girl.
So being holy starts with being separated from sin. Awesome. But what else?? When I think about times in my life that i’ve been separated from something – be it my home, a boyfriend, a hobby, a best friend – it’s usually because something else has captured my attention. So true holiness is not only being separated from sin, but separating ourselves to something else – to God. Clinging to God instead of the sin that used to bind our lives. Some sins aren't that hard to get rid of. It’s easy to not get drunk when you don’t drink. It’s easy to keep your body pure when you’re not sleeping around. But it’s hard to be honest when you really want to lie. To say no when all you really want is to say yes.
It is never easy to give up the sins you struggle with and place them in the hands of God. To give up control and value a life of holiness over the life people around us tell us we should have. “But God would want you to have fun. He wants you to let loose. You can always ask for forgiveness later.” Actually, I think God would prefer me to strive for holiness. Yes there is grace, and yes there is forgiveness. I need both of these constantly. But holiness starts in the heart and radiates out of you. It’s not something you can pick up and try on whenever you feel like it. Holiness chooses Christ over the flesh. It strives to stand strong with God when on your own you would fall.
Holiness is a process. It is a daily, hourly, minute by minute decision to choose Christ. 6 years after learning all of this it is still such a struggle for me. Most days i’m pretty horrible at it. But my desire for myself, and my prayer for each of you, is that you would see holiness as worth the fight. Worth giving up some things for, worth the effort and worth believing in. That the end result of being more like Christ would be enough to get you through the hard times and keep you pushing towards Him.
“I am holy; you be holy.” 1 Peter 1:15
