Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming to your former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:15 NKJV

God calls us to be holy. Peter makes reference to Leviticus 11:45. The book of Leviticus is God calling His people to be holy because He is holy.

What does it mean to be holy? Jesus Christ gave us the perfect example. He lived a life without sin in total devotion to God even to the point of sacrificing Himself on a cross for us.

Many people today pursue happiness. Happiness won’t get you into heaven. Holiness will get you into heaven. Holiness requires sacrifice. We must be willing to surrender ourselves to the Lord.

We must be willing to be sanctified or set apart. When we pursue happiness, we look like everyone else that is of the world. When we pursue holiness, we look, think, speak and act differently.

Too many of us today are afraid to be different. We don’t want to stand out in a crowd. A light under a basket doesn’t draw people, a lighthouse draws people. We are going to have to let our little lights shine if we want to pursue holiness. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to surrender all to Christ even if it means you lose relationships with friends or family members? Are you willing to pursue holiness even if it means you aren’t the most popular person in your school or your workplace?

None of us can be holy or righteous without God’s help. This is why I speak of pursuing holiness. If we strive for righteousness and pursue holiness during our time here on earth, we will be in constant fellowship with God. We must pursue these things in order to have any fellowship with God because God is holy, just as our Scripture passage says.

How do we pursue holiness? We pursue holiness by striving to be like Jesus Christ. We are told in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of Christ. In Romans 12, Paul tells us how to be holy by sacrificing ourselves. He gives us a list of Christian ethics we should strongly adhere to. To be holy we must be obedient. We must trust in the Lord. We must give our troubles over to Him and trust in Him to be our refuge and our fortress when the going gets tough.

When we are holy, we trust in the Lord. We love Him with all our heart. We trust in Him completely. Hebrews 11 gives us a list of those in the Old Testament who pursued holiness by trusting in God and striving to be obedient to Him.

I use the term striving because it is seldom easy. We strive to obey as we strive for righteousness. We can’t do it without God’s help. It’s going to be a struggle at times. We must be able to overcome the obstacles that will surely be before us. This is necessary, however, if we intend to pursue holiness.

I ask you today, are you busy pursuing happiness or holiness? Happiness is fleeting and relies on circumstances. Joy is found in Jesus Christ. We can experience peace and joy, regardless of our circumstances, when we try our best to imitate Him.

You may be fortunate enough to find happiness that lasts you a lifetime, but if you want peace and joy that will last throughout eternity pursue holiness.

Have a great day!