Living the Holy Life God Calls Us to Live

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him, ² and he began to teach them, saying:

³ “They are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty,
    for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
⁴ They are blessed who grieve,
    for God will comfort them.
⁵ They are blessed who are humble,
    for the whole earth will be theirs.
⁶ They are blessed who hunger and thirst after justice,
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷ They are blessed who show mercy to others,
    for God will show mercy to them.
⁸ They are blessed whose thoughts are pure,
    for they will see God.
⁹ They are blessed who work for peace,
    for they will be called God’s children.
¹⁰ They are blessed who are persecuted for doing good,
    for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

¹¹ “People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do, you will be blessed. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did the same evil things to the prophets who lived before you.  (Mathew 5:1-12 - NCV)

What does it mean to be “Blessed?”

One of the main teachings of the Bible as described by the Abrahamic Covenant is the idea of God’s blessing being laid upon mankind.  Through the story of Abraham we learn that God blesses us for a reason – to be a blessing to others.  Throughout the history of mankind we have prayed for God’s blessings to flow into and through our lives.  Being blessed is a huge part of our world.  Everyone wants God’s blessings in their life.

In 2000 Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book called the Prayer of Jabez based on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 which was about the blessings one man prayed for and received.  This prayer became very popular for several years and I, to this day, still pray regularly in the Jabez format.  (see prayer at top of page.)  I pray every day for God’s blessings so that I can be a blessing to the world.

What am I praying for?  Riches and wealth?  Happiness and bliss? God’s anointing?

In the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew 5-7, Jesus begins his teaching with the verses referred to as the Beatitudes which provide us a list of examples of a blessed life such as: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.” Do the Beatitudes mean that people blessed by God have a special impact on the world or is it the other way around where people who do special things are blessed by God?

The word Blessed has several definitions but the one generally listed first is “having a sacred nature” or “being holy” and “connected to God” or “favored by God.”  Yes, the idea of living an enjoyable and enriched life is also a common use of the word, but let’s say for argument sake that God’s use of the word Blessed in the Bible is of a more holy nature.  If we do this then the idea of living a life filled with blessings becomes “living a holy life.” And living a holy life brings a different set of baggage to the idea of being Blessed.  God blesses us, anoints us, for a holy purpose – to be holy people and to do holy things.  It means to become like Christ himself.

Being like Christ is a holy and lofty goal but is obviously a very challenging thing to do.  First, we generally react to the concept as being unworthy or inadequate to the task.  We clearly understand our failings as individuals and recognize how far from being holy we truly are.  And yet, in the Beatitudes Jesus calls us to live holy lives.  We could argue that only a few saints achieve this goal of holiness but that does not dismiss the calling and the expectation:  God created us to be holy beings.

 “The Lord has told you, human, what is good;
    he has told you what he wants from you:
to do what is right to other people,
love being kind to others,
and live humbly, obeying your God.

 (Micah 6:8 - NCV)

It is not only a desire that God wants us to do right, love one another and live humbly, it’s a commandment:

¹⁴ Now that you are obedient children of God do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. ¹⁵ But be holy in all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”  (1 Peter 1:14-16 - NCV)

And it is not only a New Testament concept:

“Only those who are innocent
    and who do what is right.
Such people speak the truth from their hearts
³ and do not tell lies about others.
They do no wrong to their neighbors
    and do not gossip.
⁴ They do not respect hateful people
    but honor those who honor the Lord.
They keep their promises to their neighbors,
    even when it hurts.
⁵ They do not charge interest on money they lend
    and do not take money to hurt innocent people.

Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.”

(Psalm 15 - NCV)

But how are we to live a Blessed or Holy life?

I believe the main issue boils down to a chicken-and-egg question.  Is it up to us to become Holy or is Holiness a gift from God?  In one sense, holiness has the touch and feel of Godliness.  In other words, it seems that the whole concept of being holy is of a Godly nature, meaning it comes from God.  However, when the rubber meets the road, and we take time to review our days, we often come to realize that it is us who have failed at holy living because holiness is a tough goal to reach. There is a sense of unattainable perfection.

Is holy living unattainable?

I do not think God would dangle a carrot or level of expectation before us if he felt it was unattainable.  I do not think Jesus would provide a litany of examples for holy living if he knew we would never fulfill the calling. We are blessed to be a blessing.  We are made holy to be holy.

Yes, we have some work to do but this work can be summarized as simply turning to Christ. Once we have him in our sights on a regular basis and live each day without wavering from this focus, then the blessings flow.  How we keep this focus is different for everyone.  It can come in the form of prayer, meditation, devotionals, reading, writing, singing, Bible Study, blogging, exercise etcetera, etcetera, and etcetera.  It doesn’t matter what we do as long as the focus is Christ.

“Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin.”

(1 Corinthians 1:30 - NCV)

Being set free from sin and responding to the call from Christ to live holy lives means that the kingdom of heaven becomes a tangible and achievable reality in our lives today… not once we pass through the pearly gates of heaven or when Christ returns in some future millennia… Today!

 “We need not and must not wait until we die to live in the land of milk and honey; and if we will only move to that land now, the passage in physical death will be but one more day in the endless life we have long since begun.” By Dallas Willard, Renovations of the Heart, p43.