Day 7

“Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today…”

—EXODUS 32:29

To be holy does not mean to be perfect, but to be ‘set apart’. That is the meaning of the word. It does not equal being perfect.

In my wedding service, I said to my bride as part of my vows: “Forsaking all others, I take you only unto me.” What I meant was, “I’ll never look at a girl again the way I look at you. I’ll never develop a relationship with another woman in the way that I have a relationship with you.” I had become ‘set apart’ exclusively to her. I was entering into a ‘holy’ relationship with her, one in which we are set apart exclusively to each other. That did not make me a perfect husband overnight!! (I think that took a week!) No, I will never be a perfect husband, and that was not the expectation on my wedding day (certainly not my wife’s!), nor was it the meaning of setting myself apart to her. I am repeatedly needing to say, ‘I am sorry’. We are always learning new things about each other, and the journey of growth will never end – ‘till death do us part’.

Being called to be ‘holy’ is to be set apart to Christ, and involves no expectation of perfection – for that is neither offered nor promised to us in this life. Rather, in our frailty and the everyday fumbling of our lives to walk in harmony with the Lord Jesus, there is a fundamental attitude that says, “I am set apart to the Lord Jesus”. That is what it means to be holy.

The alternative to holiness is that we are available to anything that happens to attract our attention at the time. To be available to whatever is convenient, comfortable and compatible with our own selfishness is to live an unholy life. We are called to holiness,

called to live in step with Jesus, called to unite our interests with His and our agendas with His.

As Peter wrote, ‘In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord’ (1 Peter 3:15).

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for setting me apart for You. We are called to holiness, and I ask that your indwelling Spirit help me to grow more and more in harmony with You.

TO REFLECT UPON: In what areas of my life do I need to grow more in step with Jesus, and do I live with a daily attitude of knowing I am set apart for our Lord?