Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

This particular verse is really being put to the test right now, with all the political divisions that are so evident. With all the violent rhetoric and actions coming from one side in particular, peace can seem like a distant goal! However, it remains a vital goal, no matter how distant it might seem. And on top of that, we have the goal of holiness. Peace, as expressed here, involves two parties, and so isn’t necessarily up to us, but holiness is between us and God, and He certainly isn’t going to let His end down. One problem with holiness is that we often have a distorted idea of what it is. It certainly isn’t walking around with a long face all the time! Holiness means accurately reflecting the character of God. That isn’t our natural state, so He has to “polish us up” to better reflect Him. That holiness doesn’t originate in us, but in Him; we can’t generate it on our own. Accordingly, seeking to be holy means seeking more of Him. Jesus was the only person to ever embody the Father fully (Colossians 2;9), but we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18) That’s what holiness is all about.

We had a bit of intensive training in that this morning, when our doorbell rang incessantly at 3 am. It was a lady to whom we have been ministering, bringing us a dish of pork stew she had made for us, along with a few cents of offering. My first reaction, on waking and seeing the time, was, “I’m NOT going to the door.” However, she kept ringing the bell, and I relented and went down to the door. We have known from our first interactions with her that she has some bad connections in her brain, particularly in relation to time and days of the week, (as well as some other things) but this was the most extreme example of that so far. I did tell her firmly that it was a major problem for her to come at that time of night, but the Lord kept me from completely exploding at her. This verse is very appropriate for us this morning! This is a reminder that these are goals, not achievements, just as Paul acknowledged. (Philippians 3:12-14) I am to keep pressing in for more of my Lord, so that I may represent Him more and more accurately.

Father, thank You for this lesson, even though I didn’t feel very grateful at 3 am! Thank You for the praying I was able to do after I went back to bed. I do continue to pray for the brother who is having surgery today, as well as for his wife, and I pray for the woman who came to the door this morning. We all need Your grace and mercy! May Your will indeed be done and the works of the devil be destroyed, (1 John 3:8) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!