Session 11

Perfection Isn’t The Point

From 1 Peter: A 20-Day Devotional

“Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

This sounds like a tall order from God. Does He really want us to walk around every day pure and perfect? What if we mess up? Do we have to start over?

When we associate holiness with striving to be perfect, we’ll always end up frustrated and discouraged. When trying to be perfect fails, many of us will associate holiness with cutting ties from the world. But that doesn’t work either, because Jesus tells us to be His ambassadors to the world. So what does being holy really mean?

Holiness starts with understanding this fundamental truth: the only perfection within us is Jesus. Being holy simply means we have been set apart for God, that we are exclusively His. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “We are not our own. We were bought at a price.” That price was the blood of Jesus.

God doesn’t tell us to “become holy” because He knows we could never do that on our own. Instead, He says, “Be holy.” In other words, starting right now and every day forward, our lives should reflect who we are in Jesus. It is Jesus who makes us holy, not ourselves (Leviticus 20:8).

Being holy is an attitude of the heart that says, “Lord, my life is yours. Teach me to be like You. Show me how to hear people and see people like You do. I am Yours and Yours alone.” That is holiness.

Reflect:

• Is there any area of your life where you’re striving for perfection? What’s driving that need to be perfect?
• Are there any actions or attitudes that need to change based on the understanding that it’s Jesus who makes us perfect?
• Try praying Psalm 51:10 today: “Create in me a clean heart, Lord. Renew my mind to think like You. Restore to me Your joy; and make me willing to obey You.”