Be Holy
I feel a deep stirring in my soul. A fire lit by Jesus that cannot be quenched on this side of eternity. There’s a holy reverence that has been placed for Jesus and eternal life. For his love and for his judgement. The judgement of the sinner and the judgement of the saint. Because of this, but not only this, I feel a call to bring the next generation of saints and sinners to holiness. Jesus says, “Be holy for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) Somehow, this has been lost in Westernized Christianity. We’ve been allowed comforts that Christians in other countries do not have the luxury to experience. While our brothers and sisters are being crucified in Africa, beheaded in Iraq, imprisoned in China, we can barely deem to preach more than a watered down, palatable Gospel to the “churched.” An overly saturated grace message that removes the responsibility of the believer has infiltrated our minds and our hearts, allowing for an apathy within the body that stops reaching the lost and creates a chasm between convert and disciple.
None of that is to say that God’s gift of grace isn’t real, or that it’s insufficient. But, what we do with that gift has a lot to say about our impact on earth and in the heavens. If God’s grace stirs you to compassion, to love on and reach the lost, to invite those who don’t share your beliefs to the table, then it is the grace that is mentioned in Ephesians 1:6-7. “…to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Our redemption is through his blood and grace runs through that very blood. However, we cannot grow lazy or take advantage of the gift that has been given. It is not “all come to the Father through my grace,” it’s “all come to the Father through ME.” Jesus, and him crucified tore the veil between us and the Father. Jesus opened the path to relationship, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to move through the temple doors of our hearts toward Him. Our pursuit of Him results in repentance, a love for Him, a following of Him and his Word, which is what brings us into the grace of His salvation.
When I look at the body as a whole in the United States, we’ve become so comfortable as a society that we don’t think we need a Savior. Or, if we do, we reach for phrases like, “you do you,” or “do what makes you happy,” or “be your true self.” We chase temporary happiness and “self” over the pleasure of God. We seek intimacy amongst peers before getting still before the Father. I’ve heard it said, “I see Christ in the people around me.” That statement is true! You can definitely see Jesus in the people around you, but you won’t even know what to look for if you don’t gaze upon HIS beautiful face first. In Jude, we are called to be compassionate to people who still have doubts and I think that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ. “Keep being compassionate to those who still have doubts, and snatch others out of the fire to save them. Be merciful over and over to them, but always couple your mercy with the fear of God.” Jude 1:22-23.
We couple our mercy WITH the fear of God. The fear of God is what calls us to repentance, a crucial step in the Christian walk that seems to have been sidestepped in an effort to create a “seeker friendly” environment. Proverbs 14:27 says,
“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” Before you tell me that death mentioned here is before the cross, and that Jesus has conquered death (which is true), we can still choose death. We can still choose a life without Christ, and an eternity without Him. In 2 Corinthians 7:1, Paul writes, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” Fear can also be translated into reverence. I do believe the church is being called to repentance in a way we haven’t seen before, to give Jesus the spotless bride that he deserves to behold.
think this is just a tip of the iceberg of what God is calling this next generation of Christians to: an unwavering zeal for holiness and intimacy with Jesus. I’m excited about digging deeper into what this means for me, for my family and for those around me, and I look forward to sharing more with you as my journey continues.