Be Holy

Holy is a word that carries a lot of weight behind it. The word itself means to be set apart, or dedicated to God, or pure. We often describe God as Holy. He is set apart, and pure altogether. His very nature is holy. One writer said "holiness describes the object of awe." But what if I told you that you, a Christian, are also holy. We don't like to think of ourselves as being holy, and of the same nature as God, but when a person is saved by the blood of Jesus, they have been set apart and made pure and holy by God himself. You are holy as a person who bears the image of God, and is washed in the blood of Jesus. That doesn't make you perfect, but it makes you purified and set apart by God himself. But being holy isnt merely a passive thing that takes place when a person becomes a Christian. While part of being holy is done by God, there is another part of it that is done us. 1 Peter 1:15 says, "like the holy one who called, be holy yourselves in all your behavior." God calls those who have been made holy to live holy lives. Living a holy life means to be a walking representation of God's holiness. Intimidating... right? We don't have to be perfect, but we do need strive to be holy and trust Jesus' blood to forgive us when we aren't.

When you step back and look at your lifestyle, your daily actions, your speech, your conduct among the world around you, would you describe it as "holy" ? God calls us to be holy in our behavior. It's not that we walk around with our nose in the air with a "holier than thou" mentality. No, thats not what God wants at all. But rather it's that the life that we manifest, and the actions of our daily lives should look like the holy God that has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

The life of a Christian should be holy. Yes, we have been made holy by the Holy God who has saved us, but we also have to live as if we've been made holy. This week, take a look at the life you live on a daily basis and ask yourself "Is this what it looks like to be holy?"

- Kolton Ballance