The Next Thing

“You shall be holy as I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:16

Does serving an infinitely holy God intimidate you?  If not, it should.  This quote of God by Peter should cause a great pause, it should initiate an examination of your heart.  Don’t skip over it.  This is not an isolated verse, it is also found in Leviticus 11:44 and 45, 19:2, 20:7 and there are other verses very similar such as Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

As Christians we cherish the “shall” in the verse from 1 Peter 1:16 above (praise God for helping verbs).  There is coming a day when we will be fully holy.  That will be the day we get to be with our Savior and before our God, complete (wow, do we look forward to that day!).  But, while we are here on earth and in the process of holification (yep, made that up) what are we to do?  We read in the Bible that we (true Christians) are progressively being conformed to the image of Jesus “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18), but, what does that look like today, this very day that you are reading these words?  Good question!  Here is the answer: it is displayed in the very next thing you do.

We often like to step way back and take a broad panoramic view of our lives and hope it displays progressive holiness.  This is a very good thing to do and your life will image that promise from God if you are truly his.  But, what about the close-up view of today, even this hour, or the next minute?  How do you take the enormous task of becoming more like Jesus and display that in your mundane, ordinary life right now?  It starts with the very next thing you do. 

Are you about to speak to your husband?  Speak words of respect and love.  Are you talking with co-workers?  Refuse to gossip and find opportunities to turn the conversation toward the gospel.  Are you wiping snotty noses?  Do so in love and because Jesus also humbled himself and served others.  Are you deciding what to do for the evening?  Make a choice that accords with Scripture and pleases God.  Do holiness now.

We can easily get caught up in “putting off” holiness for another day and just trust that God will get us there eventually.  We like to think of ourselves as “long-term projects”, maybe saving holiness for our golden years.   This is a rotten way to think and says very little for our zeal for the Lord and his desire for us to “grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).  Instead we need to “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). We need to work at our holiness with discipline and be, “bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1).  Fear God and shape up.  We are his kids and we need to act like it.

Understand, it is okay to feel overwhelmed when you read verses calling for your holiness.  Imitating our perfect Savior is a huge task!  Actually a God-sized task, only accomplished by God himself.  That is exactly why Jesus sent his Spirit, the Helper, to reside in you.  It is the Spirit that produces the fruit of holiness that honors God.  We really can do nothing apart from him (John 15:5).  The Holy Spirit will help you be more like Jesus, from the next thing to the golden years.
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Take comfort in knowing that when God says, “You shall be holy as I am holy, “it is not just a command but also a promise.  You will someday experience the fullness of the rewards of being washed clean with the blood of Jesus.  Our holification will be completed (it’s a good word).  We will truly be holy like our Father is.  It will be a great day!
Until that time, Ladies, intentionally work on your holiness.  Continually do the next thing like Jesus would.