Trying to Live Holy

"1 Peter 1: 13 - 16

[13] Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. [14] As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. [15] But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; [16] for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

 This concept of being "holy" is hard to understand.

To people who are not believers if you were to say that you are trying to live your life holy like God you would be viewed negatively.  I know that if I spoke to my friends who are non-believers they would think it an absurd thing.  So often in non-religious settings deciding to be as holy as possible is used a put-down.  "Holier than thou"  is used to imply that you think you better than others.

In reality though turning your life around to be more holy is a humbling experience.  It is has put depth to the meaning of believing and living a life where my relationship with Christ is the most important thing.

It is humbling to look at my self and see the sin, see the terrible things I have done in my past, face up to them, and then turn and admit them to God.  To sit and ask for forgiveness and then to understand that God no longer even sees that sin because I am washed clean.  Holding grudges and wanting continuous payment for wrong-doings is such a human condition and as such hard to separate yourself from in trying to understand how you can been completely forgiven for your sins.

The guilt and the shame that I feel for things said and done in my life are hard to shake, even when I am no longer and would no longer make those decisions.

In our society, if someone makes a mistake, we expect them to pay.  And many times to keep on paying.  If you do something bad we expect you to keep your head down and feel shamed, barely daring to breathe our air because you were so wrong.

So when the wrongdoer experiences the form of repentence and learns that God wants you to shut your sin behind you, I wonder how the people who did such bad things could now act like they have forgotten what they have done?

Now though, as I am going through this, and giving my life over to God, I understand. 

It is not that we will ever forget our mis-deeds and wrong-doings, my mind will always know what I have done wrong, but in order to be right with Christ I have to push those things aside so that it will not jeopardize my relationship with Him. 

If I concentrate on what I have done wrong, then it will make me feel that I am not good enough to be in the Lord's company.  I won't be able to appreciate the sacrifices he has made for me, and in turn I will be prevented from truly thriving in the love he provides to me.