practicing holiness

1 peter 1:13-25 provides some invaluable teaching from which we can glean a great deal. peter writes to the early church (and to us) that we need to "think clearly and exercise self control" with a "deep consciousness of God" and His Word. when we allow ourselves to be "pulled into a life shaped by God's life" and His Word, God will give us a future unfettered by "sloppy living." that's not to say we won't have bad days or that we won't make mistakes or that we won't find ourselves in a mess on occasion; it means that God, by the sacrifice of Christ, will guide us step by step on our journey because His Word is a map. we don't have to be bound to our old life before Christ; we can be free to live a life of praise to God for all He has done...for giving us the privilege to live for Him.

peter is very clear that when we follow the truth of God's Word, our new lives are not like our old lives; our new birth comes from God's living Word, and God's living Word was/is literally Jesus: "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...so the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness" (john 1:1 & 14). peter also instructs us to "love one another as if [our] lives depended on it." and that's fundamentally what the world needs and is the greatest evidence of God in us.

peter provides a challenge that we can only meet by applying God's Word to our daily living so that we can work and walk and worship in this world. essentially, it's an injunction from God Himself that lovingly forces us to be aware of Him...to clean up our lives by pursuing truth. the challenge is this: "so you just live as God's obedient children. don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. you didn't know any better then. but now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. for the Scriptures say, 'you must be holy because I am holy" (1 peter 1:14-16). peter is referring to verses found in leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, and 20:7 where God instructs His children to be careful to keep all of His commands by putting them into practice, and to set themselves apart to be holy because He is holy.

and that's the key. holiness is not about perfection. it's about practice. the most basic meaning of the words holy and holiness is to be set apart TO God and FROM the world. It's about dedicating yourself to God so that in your new life "the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. all the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better" (colossians 1:10). in this way, God's Word--literally, Jesus--will come alive in us so that we can grow, honouring God with our lives, and producing good fruit. holiness ISN'T about perfect conduct; it's about practical awareness that we are His and He is ours. it's about a commitment to strive for holiness in our lives.mbecause of that application in our lives we can live productive, maybe even exemplary lives of God at work in us, working through us to love, and forgive, and trust, and show compassion, and spread joy...

i know. i need to stop :-) but, i like how the apostle paul wraps up the fruit of the spirit which i think is one way we can practice being holy--being set apart to God and from the world. after he lists them in galations 5:22 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control) he says, "there is no law against these things." in other words, there is no cap or limit. practicing those qualities in our ordinary, everyday lives, we will certainly live lives "energetic and blazing with holiness" (1peter 1:15).

"so roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready" (1 peter 1:13) to practice holiness!