“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.”  (I Peter 2:14-16)

I have been called by God to be something that doesn’t seem to be attainable in this life, at least in my experience.  I want to be holy, but day in and day out, I always fail.  Not that I don’t have my good moments, but honestly, even when I do good deeds they are sometimes with mixed motives.  Anyone who is married knows what I am talking about.

So what does it mean to be holy?  Is it something we are if we are in Christ or is it something we are always striving to attain?  Here in Peter’s first epistle we learn that it seems to be a combination of the two.  On the one hand, holiness involves a state of being.  It’s who I am if I am of Jesus Christ.  God sees me as righteous being.  My blood carries his DNA.  Holiness should be expected of one who has been redeemed and adopted into God’s family.  But experience alone tells me I haven’t arrived.  Herein lays Peter’s exhortation for me to be obedient to God in my lifestyle.  In so doing I set myself apart from sin and it’s influence over my life.  This combination of being (God’s part) and doing (my part through the power of God’s Spirit) leads me to reflect holiness.

This is what God wants and has for me.

Help me Lord to remember what you have saved me from.  Help me to be wise to sin and set apart from it, thus reflecting the holiness you have instilled within me.  May it not be an every-once-in-awhile occurrence but may it bleed out my pores as I press on toward knowing you and following after you.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 24th, 2006 at 5:00 am and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.