Hebrews 12:14 (NLT)
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
We must be a holy people. The next aspect of holiness that Peter points out is this:
Holy people live for the eternal and not the temporary. Holy people look forward to the “gracious salvation” that will come to them when Jesus Christ comes back to the world.
As the story goes, a young banker was driving his BMW in the mountains, during a snow storm. As he rounded a turn, the vehicle slid out of control and toward a deep cliff. At the last moment, he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped from the car. Though he escaped with his life, his left arm was caught near the hinge of the door and torn off at the shoulder. A trucker passing nearby witnessed the accident, stopped his rig, and ran back to see if he could be of help. There standing, in a state of shock, was the banker at the edge of the cliff moaning, "Oh my BMW, my BMW." The trucker pointed to the banker's shoulder and said, "Man, you've got bigger problems than a car." With that the banker looked at his shoulder, finally realizing he'd lost his arm, and began crying, "Oh my new Rolex, my new Rolex."
This is a funny story but make no mistake… The lives we live can be just as silly. When we stop putting aside time during our day for prayer and bible study, we are ignoring our severed arm and focusing on our BMW. When we stop spending time with our Christian brothers and sisters, we are ignoring our severed arm and focusing on our Rolex.
I urge you today to hold onto the hope that you received when you accepted Christ into your life. Jesus told us that this life would be hard and that few would actually give up the pleasures of this world to find it:
Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT)
You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
Make no mistake… This world and the things in it are beautiful. Because of this, the pull of the world can easily steal our affections away from Christ and cause us to live for the temporary things this life can bring us. As a holy people, we must keep this life in perspective. Check out what Paul tells us in Romans:
Romans 8:18 (NLT)
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
Look forward to your “gracious salvation.”
Hold on to your hope in Christ and let everything else go.
Holy people live for the eternal and not the temporary.
