1 Peter 1:13 – 16 “Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former 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.”
What does it mean to be holy? These days, many people seem to mock holiness. If you are accused of having a “holier than thou” attitude, it generally means that you are a hypocrite who does the very same things that you deplore in someone else. But is that really all there is to holiness?
What if we want to really get to know God? One of the first things we must recognize about God is that God is holy. God is pure, sinless, guiltless, honest, and true. If you have ever fallen in love with someone, you remember that when you were around that person, you wanted to look as good as possible for him/her. You wanted that person to really be impressed with you, and you tried to behave as well as possible.
There is nobody and nothing in the entire universe worthy of worship apart from the one true living God. And God is a holy God. The Bible encourages us to “worship God in the splendor of His holiness.” Here is part of what King David said (1 Chronicles 16:23 – 30)
”Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.”
Peter had very few illusions about the behavior of the Christians to whom he was writing before they began to follow Jesus. There is nothing new under the sun, and the same perversions that appear to be taking over in America were prevalent in Peter’s day. That is why Peter was so insistent that his readers prepare their minds for action and be sober – minded. Peter was encouraging people to be obedient to God and to worship Him and honor Him by seeking after holiness.
How many parents have watched their children, only to realize that their children have picked up ALL their habits, including their worst ones? If you react to statements people make by rolling your eyes, your kids will roll their eyes every time you say something. If you are impatient, if you swear, if you make cutting remarks, be sure that your kids will copy you! Peter wants us to copy our Heavenly Father. Why? How can a holy and righteous God tolerate anyone who wants to come to Him covered with sin?
When I was growing up on the farm, we had a wonderful dog who only had one small problem: she LOVED to find the stinkiest, nastiest stuff she could to roll in! And once she had rolled in something truly horrific, she would run up and rub against us, as if she wanted to SHARE this wonderful experience! It is true that God runs “come as you are parties,” that He accepts us and then cleans us up. But it is equally true that once we have been cleaned up, we should seek to remain clean and we should not immediately rush back to see how much sin we can indulge in!
The speed of darkness is the speed of light. When light comes, darkness must flee. And when holiness comes, unholiness must also flee. If we insist that we don’t need to practice holiness and to seek holiness, we won’t be happy or comfortable around our Holy Heavenly Father. So, which will it be? Hang onto stinky sin like our dog on the farm, or leave that sin behind and pursue holiness? If we pursue holiness, we will have fellowship with the One who loves us most and best.
PRAYER: Father God, help us! We like the idea of holiness, but we want to hang onto our sin as well. Help us to leave our sins behind and follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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