Pursuing Holiness

In my devotional reading I am currently re-reading The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Each time I read it I'm reminded of how far short I come in being the person God wants me to be. It's not that I don't pray or read the scriptures; it's just that I know that after 3+ decades of being a Christian I am still a work in progress. Reading this book reminds me how high the bar really is, and while I have come a long way I still have my moments when I come up short. However, Bridges also reminds us that we are to be engaged in the pursuit of holiness. None of us will ever achieve perfect holiness this side of heaven, but we should all be pursuing holiness in our lives. Bridges writes, "God does not require a perfect, sinless life to have fellowship with Him, but He does require that we be serious about holiness, that we grieve over sin in our lives instead of justifying it, and that we earnestly pursue holiness as a way of life." (35-36)

As bivocational ministers we balance so many different things in our lives. We struggle to find sufficient time for our jobs, our ministries, and our families. It becomes easy to ignore God for days at a time. We tell ourselves we'll try to find time to pray later. We'll try to spend time in God's Word before we go to bed; we're just too busy right now. We'll deal with that rather insignificant sin later. Right now we'll just throw up a quick, "Forgive me" prayer as we move on to our next task. Does any of this sound familiar? It does to me because it sounds like the traps I find myself in from time to time.

Reading this book again reminds me that God wants us to deal with those "rather insignificant" sins right now, not later. He wants us to spend time in His Word and in prayer as part of a disciplined life. He wants me to give Him time each day to shape and mold me into the person He has called me to be. It is in that disciplined daily relationship with Jesus Christ that we pursue holiness.

Do you grieve over the times in your life when you come up short of what God intends for you to be? Are there some changes you need to make in your life that will help you pursue a life of holiness? I encourage you to make these questions a matter of prayer.