Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)
Holiness. It is a lofty, heavy word. At least in our culture.
The world would like you to think that you can’t be holy, so why even feel “guilty” for missing the mark?
This new season of autumn, though, has got me thinking about harvesting. Specifically, what does the Lord want me to harvest in my life as a wife, mother, daughter and disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?
This verse from Hebrews hit home to me on Sunday. Did you read it? It is printed above for you (take a look at it again).
I am to make every effort to live in peace with all men (including my husband and children) AND to BE HOLY {emphasis mine}!
Then the writer, sneaks the rest of the story in at the end of the sentence…“without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
What? Wait. I want to see the Lord! I want to see Him manifest in my life, my marriage, in the lives of my children and in my nation and the world. But, without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The idea of holiness and, in fact, more than just the idea, holiness itself must be something within my grasp if God’s Word says that I am to be holy.
Dictionary.com defines holy as: “dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion.” Biblically, though, the word has more to do with being “set apart” or “dedicated for a special purpose”. Holiness is an attribute of God Himself and so is also a characteristic of the born again believer who has the indwelling Holy Spirit living inside of them.
How do I harvest holiness in my life? I think the author of Hebrews anticipated my question!
Verses 15-17 in The Message say,
Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
Holiness needs to be cultivated in order to be harvested. Just as we nurture plants and crops to grow and mature so that when the harvest comes there is much reaping, I must do so with holiness in my own life.
I need to cultivate God’s generosity with my husband and keep an eye out for bitter discontent, which will come if I am not watchful! It takes just a few weeds to ruin a relationship and to give the Devil a foothold! Wow. Such wisdom for my marriage.
Esau is a pitiful case of someone selling out for cheap fulfillment. He wanted to satisfy the flesh and ended up trading fleshly satisfaction and missing out on God’s blessing.
I want to be holy (for then I will see the Lord!!). I want to be one who is ready for the harvest and can see the fruits of the labor in my marriage and other relationships. The Lord desires to bring an abundance of fruit to our lives if we will be willing to set ourselves apart for His special purpose.
We were created to adore Him and to be loved by Him. We are to be holy.
Walking minute by minute in His grace,
♥Kim
Great stuff, my friends!! I love this thought: “Holiness needs to be cultivated in order to be harvested. Just as we nurture plants and crops to grow and mature so that when the harvest comes there is much reaping, I must do so with holiness in my own life.” Dead on!