Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:13-16

You have a choice: obey the impulses and desires of ignorance that come from acting according to the base desires of the body or follow a higher way of thinking according to what God has shown us. That’s what holy means: set apart for a purpose.

A temple sacrifice was a holy thing, not because the cow or sheep offered was special in and of itself, but because the one offering it set it aside as a suitable one to fulfill the purpose. So God has set us apart as approved for the tasks which he guides us, not because of our behavior, but rather changing our behavior to match our holiness.

Praise the Holy One who has called us out and made us holy, like Him!

Ethan Kirl

Originally Published July 12, 2021