Holiness

I’ve been thinking about the holiness of God a lot lately; and more specifically His call upon our lives to “Be holy, for I am holy.” It’s not even so much how far short we all fall from this calling that stands out to me as it is the astonishing lack of remembering this as the goal of our lives.

“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean,… let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Cor. 6:17 - 7:1)
Throughout the course of any given day we may have any number of goals in mind but as followers of Christ our highest goal ought to be to walk in holiness, to set ourselves aside from the world for our God.

Often times it’s not so much the unclean things that we touch but the unclean things that we let touch us. Every aspect of our lives ought to be touched by the holiness of God. Is there pride or selfishness in my heart? Are my thoughts and the things I let my eyes see pure and pleasing to the Lord? The question isn’t, “Do I live a pretty good Christian life?” but, “Is my life Holy?” Am I striving for the holiness of God in my life above all else? Is this my greatest desire, my passion, my hunger?

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,… (1 Peter 2:9)