The list of things I know for certain is short, but I know this: I am not holy.
I hear Peter’s charge to “be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15) as he echoes the Lord’s words to “be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44), and I feel the gravitational pull of defeat. Because it doesn’t seem to matter how much I want to be holy. (And trust me—I really, really want to be holy). There aren’t twelve steps I can take to become holy. There aren’t bootstraps big enough to pull me up toward the perfection of God. There’s no self-help guide to blamelessness. If personal holiness is up to me, it begins to feel like an impossible equation.
There are times when I get fed up with chronically missing the mark. I want to be holy because God is holy, but instead find myself broken because the world is broken. I was having one of these fed-up moments while driving down the highway recently. In my frustration I cried out to the Lord, praying, “How long, Lord, until I become like you?!”
This phrase came to mind; “In a moment.”
For a nanosecond I worried I was about to hit a semi head on, because I know I will not fully become like Christ this side of heaven. But no collision came. My heart was simply recalling the gospel hope I cling to. Scripture tells us that when Christ returns, we will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Peter isn’t tasking us with a moral standard our broken selves can never attain. He’s preaching the gospel. We can’t hear it too often. He reminds us of what’s truest about us as Christ-followers:
For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers,
not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:18–19).
Yes, I am broken as my parents were broken.
My children are broken, as I am broken.
You are broken, as all people are broken.
But that is not our story, and it’s not our identity.
Our brokenness and Christ’s holiness are two sides of the same gospel coin. And so we need to stop staring at our failed attempts at holiness. We need to flip the coin over, and instead gaze with wonder anew at the gospel of grace. Again, we cannot do it too often.
My power over sin rests not in me, but in the one who burst forth from the grave (v.21), the “holy, holy, holy” One (Revelation 4:8). I am holy, because Christ is holy, and I am hidden in Him (Colossians 3:3). Yes, my flesh is broken. But praise be to God, “All flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of grass” (1 Peter 1:24).
But the holiness of God is mine forever.
“your faith and hope are in God” I would love to have your prayers today as I am inclined to believe I am pregnant. I have no proof but some symptoms which are backed up by science, however I have 4 more days to wait till a pregnancy test would be accurate. It’s silly that I get anxious both about being pregnant and about not being pregnant, for either one is no issue to me. My faith and hope are in God, but because I’m getting more excited with each day, I don’t want ito be depressed if I don’t end up being pregnant, as truly either outcome is fine, I’ve been praying for God’s timing for pregnancy since the new year. I want to let go of the strong emotions I’m placing into this wait, and be at peace having faith both that God will cause me to be pregnant when his timing is right, and hope that my feelings are founded and I am pregnant now, but hope in him, not in the emotionally charged fantasy of being pregnant.
I’m reminded of this song: https://youtu.be/j5qc0EcNgqw. Yes, we need to fix our eyes upon Jesus! There was a great post about this on Instagram. I was trying to find it. I thought it was from Proverbs 31. I also just read a reminder. He is our Defender, Redeemer, the Lifter of our Heads, and sings over us! How awesome is He!!!
Amen
Jerry Bridges wrote great books about being holy and godly. I’m working through The Practice of Godliness in a Sunday school class now. We did The Pursuit of Holiness a year ago. Both are highly recommended. It has shifted my perspective and, more than that, my faith with action. There’s so much more to this life that we miss often.
Betsy and Carolyn, YES!
I feel like so often we buy into the facts of our life. We know where we’ve messed up and we see the facts. But TRUTH. That’s something different. The bible says we ARE a new creation. The old has passed away. The bible says we are spotless and pure because of the blood of Jesus. It’s done! Yes, we can read the facts as other than. But the truth says we are holy. I’m so tired of believing the facts when Jesus’ blood was shed for me to live in the truth. I am holy. We, as Christians, are holy. Bought and paid for by the most precious blood of Jesus.
We are all broken people, but through God’s amazing grace we are made whole!!!
My brokenness & God’s Grace are like 2 sides of a coin – I love this metaphor reminding us that just a quick flip & we have God’s love & grace – forever available & connected. Blessings sisters xx
‘If personal holiness is left up to me, it’s an impossible equation’
Such a simple statement that I originally read as defeat, but then when I read it again found so much peace in. I by myself cannot be holy. It doesn’t happen when I flip a switch or over night. “In a moment” is when change happens. If I stopped dwelling on not being holy on my own and start focusing on my God is Holy, my God wants me to be holy. I can be holy through Him
❤️❤️❤️
Amen! It is by His strength not by ours alone…by choosing to trust in Him fully, we are Holy because He is Holy.
I understand it’s easier said than done but trusting Him is the way