Hebrews 12:14-15:
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone
and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many.
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone
and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many.
Isis, 17 years old BarbTalk:
Live at peace.
Be holy.
See to it that no one fall short of the grace.
No bitter root.
As I ponder those 4 statements, I think, impossible.
To begin with, how can we possibly be holy?
Out comes Dictionary.com:
adjective, holier, holiest
According to this definition, people, places, and things are holy if they are set apart for special service to and by God. This reminds me that God calls His followers saints. None of us consider ourselves to be saints, but that is what God calls Christ Followers.
The writer of Hebrews said to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Since God calls us holy, then we should act like it.
Almost every day I say to the Lord: I love You, Lord. Help me act like it today.
It is a huge undertaking to live in peace with everyone. That takes someone who can see the ‘big picture’ and who can be humble, not needing to be right. It seems like people, when they work at being holy, tend to want to be right about everything, which is the opposite of making an effort to live in peace with everyone. So how does one achieve that which the writer of Hebrews insists?
I imagine it takes a lifetime. I also think, that if we continually humble ourselves before God, constantly working at being set apart by God to do only what He wants and not what we want, we may achieve living in peace with others. But then the writer goes on to ask us to not let anyone fall short of the grace of God and to make sure no bitter root grows up among us. Wow, is that hard!
Bitterness can easily grow up. It just takes a tiny seed. The tiny seed gets fed by our discontent, our needing to be right, and our disappointment because things aren’t going the way we want. It happens every day. Lots of things go wrong, are unexpected, difficult, and so often, we feel cheated.
Time to step back and see the big picture. What do I really need? Most often it is not what I need, but what I want that puts me into the position to be bitter. So again, I must go to God, humble myself, and ask for His perspective on every aspect of life. I need to remember that everything is temporary, and the only thing eternal is God and what will happen to us eternally in accordance with our choices in this life. Nothing is as important as that. I think that is what Jesus meant when we read His words were recorded in John 12:25:
“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Not our way, His way. Not our best thoughts, His higher thoughts.
This also reminds me of 2 Chronicles 7:14: “if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
That’s a big promise! And it sounds like we will live in peace with everyone and be holy if we do this! And how can a bitter root grow up among us if we are all humbling ourselves, praying and seeking God; turning from our wicked ways? There won’t be enough time to be bitter. And, we certainly won’t miss out on the grace of God if we consume our minds and time with this.
Lots to ponder. It can get overwhelming. I know in myself I can't do this! So I think that rather than figure it all out, I will humble myself and pray, seeking His face, and turn from my wicked ways, and ask that today living in peace with everyone starts with me.
Live at peace.
Be holy.
See to it that no one fall short of the grace.
No bitter root.
As I ponder those 4 statements, I think, impossible.
To begin with, how can we possibly be holy?
Out comes Dictionary.com:
adjective, holier, holiest
- specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated: holy ground.
- dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion: a holy man.
- saintly; godly; pious; devout: a holy life.
- having a spiritually pure quality: a holy love.
- entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred: a holy relic.
- religious: holy rites.
- inspiring fear, awe, or grave distress: The director, when angry, is a holy terror.
According to this definition, people, places, and things are holy if they are set apart for special service to and by God. This reminds me that God calls His followers saints. None of us consider ourselves to be saints, but that is what God calls Christ Followers.
The writer of Hebrews said to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Since God calls us holy, then we should act like it.
Almost every day I say to the Lord: I love You, Lord. Help me act like it today.
It is a huge undertaking to live in peace with everyone. That takes someone who can see the ‘big picture’ and who can be humble, not needing to be right. It seems like people, when they work at being holy, tend to want to be right about everything, which is the opposite of making an effort to live in peace with everyone. So how does one achieve that which the writer of Hebrews insists?
I imagine it takes a lifetime. I also think, that if we continually humble ourselves before God, constantly working at being set apart by God to do only what He wants and not what we want, we may achieve living in peace with others. But then the writer goes on to ask us to not let anyone fall short of the grace of God and to make sure no bitter root grows up among us. Wow, is that hard!
Bitterness can easily grow up. It just takes a tiny seed. The tiny seed gets fed by our discontent, our needing to be right, and our disappointment because things aren’t going the way we want. It happens every day. Lots of things go wrong, are unexpected, difficult, and so often, we feel cheated.
Time to step back and see the big picture. What do I really need? Most often it is not what I need, but what I want that puts me into the position to be bitter. So again, I must go to God, humble myself, and ask for His perspective on every aspect of life. I need to remember that everything is temporary, and the only thing eternal is God and what will happen to us eternally in accordance with our choices in this life. Nothing is as important as that. I think that is what Jesus meant when we read His words were recorded in John 12:25:
“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Not our way, His way. Not our best thoughts, His higher thoughts.
This also reminds me of 2 Chronicles 7:14: “if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
That’s a big promise! And it sounds like we will live in peace with everyone and be holy if we do this! And how can a bitter root grow up among us if we are all humbling ourselves, praying and seeking God; turning from our wicked ways? There won’t be enough time to be bitter. And, we certainly won’t miss out on the grace of God if we consume our minds and time with this.
Lots to ponder. It can get overwhelming. I know in myself I can't do this! So I think that rather than figure it all out, I will humble myself and pray, seeking His face, and turn from my wicked ways, and ask that today living in peace with everyone starts with me.
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