Peace is Holy
In discussing our pursuit of holiness, I have been challenged deeply and I hope you have as well. We can easily establish once we become children of God, we are holy. “Be holy because He is holy” (1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 19:2) That being said, as followers of Jesus we are holy! Our holiness freely happens within our hearts when we repent and turn towards God. This is the wonderful life giving work done by Jesus on the cross and the empty tomb! Sin and death are crushed and we are made holy!
What has resonated with me is the action that holiness calls us towards. Simply put - holiness is not sedentary. We have discussed humility, meekness, being bold in our faith and praise. All of these require action or movement. The writer of Hebrews would add one more; striving towards peace. (Hebrews 12:14) It seems clear to me. Jesus accepts us right were He finds us, but by no means are we to stay there. Once we are saved we are all called to be disciples! Men and women of action!
I do not say all of this to just pile more things on your already full plates. You may be reading this thinking, “How am I supposed to do all that? I am having to homeschool my kids, work from home and do all the countless other things the day brings!” Please do not view this as a Christian “to-do” list. It is not meant to be that.
This is where the entire holy discussion has challenged me so much. It is not a check list, but a loving call from Jesus to know Him better. And in turn, live a fuller more complete life that will ripple outward to those all around. Jesus will be seen in me and you by a broken world!
When you and I choose to go after peace, as Hebrews 12:14 encourages, it leads us to a more holy life (the whole goal of the last few days conversations). We will begin to see the Scriptures come alive in our lives. Go back and look at Matthew 5. There is a list of blessing waiting on us when we put holiness into motion. Romans 6:22 describes the fruit of our action as eternal life. Romans 14:19 tells us the results of our pursuit of peace is building up of those around us (making those around us better).
When we put holiness in action lives are changed. People see Jesus in us! The love of God is on display for the world to see. Holiness is just what people need to see in us today, perhaps, more than ever!