The How of Being Holy

In 1 Peter 1:14-16, we read: "[14] As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. [15] But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; [16] for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'"

Wow!  Is this ever a tall order.  Be holy in the same way God is holy.  Knowing that we "all sin and  fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and that "no one is righteous, not even one" (Rom 3:10), just how is that possible and, if so, how would we even begin?

It is possible because, to begin with, all things are possible with God, even when impossible with man (see Matt 29:26).  It is also  possible because holy does not mean without flaw.  I means "to be set apart from and set toward another."  In other words, being holy is to be turned away from the ways of the world and toward the way of God.

The specific way in which Peter uses holiness is found just a few lines further down in this letter: "[22] Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. [23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (vv. 22-23).  

Being holy as God is holy has to do with loving others above self.  It has to do with a lfiestyle that seeks the good of others rather than just personal benefit.  Holiness is to seek God's ways above your own by serving others instead of being self-serving.  With God's help, it is more than possible to be holy as He is holy.  Jus' Sayn.