“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

True confession here.  There are times when my fellow Christians freely sin that I get jealous.  Why?  Because they get the benefits of their sin and heaven too.   Because in Jesus they have grace and so do I.

Now I know the Scripture that says, “Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound?  By no means!” (Rom 6:1).  But it just seems like those who sin bet many benefits of this life and are covered by grace in the next life.  David thought this, too:

“For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” (Ps 73:3).

So what’s the advantage of being righteous?  What’s the advantage of being a Christian that is trying to live a “holy” life?

What I saw today in the Scripture was that my destiny is holiness.  In fact, before the creation of the world I was chosen to be holy.   Holiness though seems so… sterile, cold, white, clinical.  But holiness is God’s character and He is anything but that.

I also remember the Scripture that “without holiness no one will see God” (Heb 12:14).  Thankful to Jesus that he has that one covered.  Albeit in blood.

And then there’s that Scripture that I’ve also been pondering on the last few days, in that godliness has value not just for this life but for the life to come as well (1 Tim 4:8).  That can get you thinking.

So yes, God’s character is holy and he is full of color, creation, goodness, love and everything that makes him so incredible.

And then I began to think on things on this earth that are “holy.”  The Crown Jewels of the British Empire are “holy.”  They are not common and available for everyone to try on.  They are carefully guarded, specially protected, thoroughly maintained and meticulously cared for by people set apart to do so.  In the US the Declaration of Independence is also very holy.  It’s carefully preserved, heavily guarded and very few people are set apart to care for it.

With this I began to see holiness from a new perspective.  Holiness is something or someone treated differently because of exceeding value.  Things that are holy are not treated like everything else.  People that are holy are not to be treated like everyone else.  Why?  Because of the exceedingly high value placed on them.

The Bible gives us warning to know the difference between the common and the holy (Lev 10:10; Eze  44:23)

“You must distinguish between the holy and the common” (Lev 10:10).

I think of our purity.  We are to protect it, guard it, tend our practices with special care as it is something to be treated differently because of its exceedingly  high value.  Our purity is holy.

And the same is true for myself.

I have been chosen to be holy before the creation of the world.

What that means is that I’ve been set apart by God and am to be treated differently because of my exceedingly high value.

That means I must treat myself differently…like a precious jewel.

And it means I’m to treat my fellow brothers and sisters differently….as fellow set apart treasures.

Treasure that is guarded, protected, cared for and tended to with the utmost respect.

This is the why God intended it…that I be special of all creation.  Holy.  Set apart.  Blameless in Him.

And that changes everything.

It demands I treat myself and others differently.