Be Ye Holy

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:13-25

The command to be holy is repeated throughout the Bible. It has its basis in the very nature of God. Be holy because God is holy. This goes all the way back to creation. Man was made in the image of God. A holy life is merely fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. Of course, the fall of man into sin distorts and twists that image and therefore, this call is a calling to return by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to the life for which we were made.

Because we live in a world of people who have “fallen short of the glory of God,” a life of holiness is unusual, convicting, and sometimes attractive. The people Peter was writing to were finding that holiness was creating unexpected tensions. Peter tells them they shouldn’t have been surprised at this, but they were. Their unusual lives were, at times, a living, breathing, walking condemnation of the world around them. And that created reactions. Not always good ones.

But there is this other side to the story. While they did and should have expected negative blowback, they could also expect a positive impact on other people as well. Even those who spoke against them as evildoers, might one day, “glorify God on the day of visitation,” because they had seen the good deeds of the believers.

As Moody said, “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses don’t blow horns. They just shine.”

I would add, in the darkness, a lighthouse guides the ships safely to shore.

So, let your light shine. Be holy as God is holy.