Day 8: H is for Holy

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16

H is for Holy. What do you think that the definition of the word holy is? Well, holy means to be morally and spiritually excellent; to be pure; to be dedicated or consecrated to a life of righteousness. I always thought of holiness as purity. But, as we see here, it is so much more!

You all know how I LOVE definitions and using my dictionary when studying my Bible. Why would I want to do that? Well, for this very reason … because I have heard most of these verses preached on sometime in my lifetime. In fact, many of these verses I have committed to memory over the years. But … you just knew there was a ‘but’ coming, did you not … when I go back to those verses and look up the words, they take me to an entirely different level of understanding. If you have never done this, I strongly encourage you to do so … and soon!

What is the command that we find here? To BE holy! Wow! The command could not be more simple or more plain, could it? Yet, have we obeyed it? Oops! I do not know about you, but I failed that test … BIG time!

Have you ever carried on … or tried to carry on … a conversation with an analytical, detailed person? Whew! It is a chore, is it not? I am that person; yet, there are times when I have been talking with others that I Just want to scream, “Just get to the point! Stop dilly-dallying around and just spit it out!” Are you like this? Now, be honest! I know that I am not the only one who is like this.

There are times when we need the details and knowing every step before we take it. But, this is most assuredly not one of those times! We just, in simple faith, need to obey!

We, as Christians, can get so lazy and so lackadaisical in our Christian lives that our only goal seems to be how we can portray to others (in hopes to convince them … and oftentimes ourselves) that we are a Christian. We do this totally over-looking the fact that if we are truly a Christian that we are called to not only be a follower (“be ye holy, [even as] I am holy”) of Christ, but we are to be LIKE Christ … HOLY!

We want the name of Christ, but at the same time, we do not want to live too closely to Him. I mean, what would others think of me then? We would be called one of those “goody-two-shoes,” or an “extremist,” or a “holier-than-thou” person. That is the last thing that we would want. But, the fact still remains … we are to be HOLY!

Lesson Objective: To understand what true holiness is. To understand that it is more than just being clean and pure, but it is something that we dedicate or commit or consecrate our whole being to. Is that you? Is that where you find yourself, my friend?

Did you pass or did you fail?