“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14, NIV).
That’s the way it is! The greater the cause the greater the effort and sacrifice we put forth to ensure success. And such is the case for the cause of Christ. As a matter of fact there is no greater cause than the cause of Christ. The cause of Christ is significantly different than that of any other cause. All causes but one find there beginning and end here on earth. But, the cause of Christ finds both its beginning and its culmination in heaven. This makes the cause of Christ far above any other cause that man may ever know.
How we live out the cause of Christ in our lives affects the eternal outcome of our souls and of those around us, as well as the glory of the Lord revealed in our lives. The eternal destiny of our friends, family, co-workers, even strangers that we have yet to meet, as well as our lives are weighed in the balance. What could be more important or significant than these?
Thus, the Hebrew writer clearly states, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” He says “make every effort.” The original language is interesting here. It has to do with the idea of “persecuting,” or “pursuing after someone or something.” Have you ever seen someone persecuting another person? Have you ever seen someone pursue someone or something? It is as if the one who is pursuing knows nothing else but to pursue the object of his affections. He simply does not know how to stop. Or a person who is persecuting someone; he simply will not relent despite the challenges and hardships that would cause most people to stop.
That is how it is to be with us who are following after Christ. We are pursuing holiness. We are in good times and in difficult times pursuing holiness. Nothing can distract us from our devotion to living a holy life. Challenges from Satan cannot make us stop pursing holiness. Power, privilege, prestige and worldly honor cannot distract us from our holy cause. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price; the precious blood of Christ. He is our holy God, and we are his holy people. And he reminds us saying, “Be holy, because I am holy.”
If we hold to this teaching the promise is we will see the Lord.
Pursuing holiness,
Keith