Being Methodist, I practice a Wesleyan tradition of the Christian faith. Part of this calls for “Holy Living”.
While we acknowledge (as we did in yesterday’s study) that our salvation isn’t tied to our good behavior or right-living, we also know that our relationship with Christ does not give us the license to live any way we wish.
If you park a car and leave it for a long time, the world around it eventually begins to overtake it. The car is the foreign thing standing in the way of the plants and animals living around it. Eventually the climate rots the tires, wears away the paint, and corrodes the metal. Field mice nibble on the wires. Critters crawl into the tail pipe and any other hole they can find. Bees and spiders and all sorts of creepy-crawlies claim the vehicle as their base of operations. The engine seizes up, the gas goes bad, the oil settles and becomes useless. Grass and weeds grow around and into it… in short, a car claimed by the world is a worthless car.
We are but sojourners in this world. Our true citizenship is in heaven. If we let the things and ways of this world grow into our hearts and souls, we become as useless as a neglected car. We begin to corrode and give way to the forces around us.
Paul tells us that we must maintain a high standard of existence while we are making our way through this world. Remember that we are just sojourners here, and regardless of what the world may applaud, we must live as members of God’s Kingdom. As such, Holy Living means that we do good, not because we are slaves to rules, but because we are living in the image of Christ.
Take a moment to dream of the heavenly kingdom. What does it look like? How do the people live in relationship to each other? How do they live in relationship with God? How can you live into that image now? How can your life become an example to the world around you?
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