Holiness, It's What I Long For

 
There is a song by Scott Underwood that is called “Take My Life”. In this song, it opens:
                                   Holiness holiness
                                            Is what I long for
                                            Holiness is what I need
                                            Holiness holiness
                                            Is what You want from me
 
Is this the desire of our hearts as well? Are we striving to live our lives and live in a holy manner that pleases God? We are sinners and will never come close, but that should not stop us from trying to improve our conduct, actions, thoughts, etc so that we align ourselves according to His Word.
 
1 Peter 1:13-16 (ESV)
¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

In the KJV, it says that we need to ‘gird up the loins’ of our minds. We need to pick up our robes and tie them around our waist so that our feet are ready to run, ready to work without being impeded. There is much work ahead of us, so we need to prepare ourselves, and our minds. Now, we need to be sober-minded, have self-restraint, and free our minds of any spiritual or mental entanglements that may cloud our judgment and affect our self-discipline.

Why? Because of the end prize…the GRACE bestowed upon us and brought by Jesus.

Next, we are called to be obedient children of God. Here is where our obedience to God helps set us apart. God is holy, and He has called us to be holy. We will never be perfect, but we can strive to be obedient. Putting aside the temptations and passions of the flesh.

I am nowhere close to perfect and have struggles in my life. The person who knows this the best, besides the Lord, is my wife. And, thankfully, she keeps me accountable for my actions and the areas I struggle. This is also reciprocal. We, as Christians, have a community of believers who are there to support us and keep us accountable so that we may prepare our hearts and minds for the work ahead. We have to fight the desires of sin and work toward being holy as God has called us to be. We need to long for that holiness. Preparing ourselves each day by communicating with Him through prayer and worship, and preparing our minds and hearts through His Word.

As we struggle with sin, remember, that it takes a conscious effort and preparation of our minds to make the active mental decision to pursue holiness. We can prepare as much as we want, but action needs to be taken in order to make that first step toward Him.

Holiness is what  we long for and what we need, but mostly, it is what He wants from us.