Holiness - a word that we all have heard whether religious or not. What comes to your mind when you hear the word "holy"? I'm sure many of us see holiness as something sacred that we tend to separate ourselves from the word itself. But did you know that holiness is actually a large part of being a Christian? Holiness is not excluded to only the priests or ministers, but it is called upon to every body of Christ. Although holiness sounds hard to accomplish, anyone can achieve it. Holiness comes down to simply having the will to have holiness in our life.
So why is being holy so important? Because it is the best offering we could give to God. Before we can go out there serving others or even having that intimate relationship with God, we first need to give what we have had since the first day we were born: Our body. Our own body and mind is the closest thing we have to ourself and it is one of the things that we care for most in our life. Death has always been the number 1 fear for everyone, which shows how important we care for our body. God desires the holiness of our bodies because he wants what we care for the most. He values the holiness that could only come from Jesus who is the most holy. Romans 12:2 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship."
As a Christian, we were all saved because through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus. His blood was shed to cleanse away our sins. Many of us focus on Jesus being holy that it can be easy to forget that we ourselves are also called to be holy. 1 Peter 1:16 says, "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." God commands us to be holy because when we were born again through baptism and cleansed with the blood of Jesus, our old unclean fresh was dead. We were born again in a new birth that brings holiness. Holiness may seem something that is far and sacred, but in reality, it is a part of us if we have accepted Jesus into our lives. Holiness was made for each body that is a part of Christ. We cannot please God by separating ourselves from holiness; it has to be a part of us.
Holiness is definitely not an easy task to accomplish 247. We are all human and have those days where our emotions and impure thoughts can get in the way, but the decision to be holy is an easy one. To keep holiness in us is a choice, will, and desire. Holiness stems from our love for God that brought us to surrendering our life to him. We sacrificed ourselves not because of religion, but for our salvation and love to God. Holiness needs to come from our desire to have it and keep it. Paul is a great example for us to follow. He had the will to have the holiness that God commanded. No one had to force him; it came from his own will. Philippians 1:20 says, "as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or death." Paul had his own eager expectation to stay holy. He made the decision to have the will to commit in holiness. Are you willing to sacrifice anything to keep holiness in your life?
Although we are saved and cleansed by the blood of Christ, we still have to maintain the holiness that came from Jesus. Holiness may seem like a hard and impossible thing to accomplish in today's world, but that is what God desires the most from us. Cultivate your will and desires to worship God in honoring what is most important to him. So remember, holiness is the best thing we could give to God.
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