Living for forever

What does “holy” mean?

Here are a few of the definitions I found: Dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. (of a person) Devoted to the service of God.

I think a lot of people look at being holy as more about what we are not as opposed to what we are. Being holy means you don’t do all of that bad stuff like cuss, have sex, get drunk, etc.

While purity is certainly a significant part of being holy, if that is all we think it is, we are missing so much.

Consider the definitions I mentioned above. What does it mean to be dedicated or consecrated to God? What does it mean to be devoted to the service of God? I would argue that it’s ultimately about acting as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Consider what Peter writes…

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:22-23)

The Kingdom is built on the foundation of love. Holiness and love are closely related. If we are holy, we love with purity. We don’t live for ourselves, but for the other person.

In addition to living for the other person, we live in such a way that our lives are not focused on today alone, but on how today fits in the bigger story of eternity. As Peter writes in the next two verses, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)

While our lives on this earth may be temporary, the Kingdom we are called to serve is not. Live in such a way that your life echoes the voice of the One who saves us and sets us free. And as we do that, we will get a glimpse of the future and offer others an opportunity to see that future as well.

 

shine!
Jason