“13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
17 And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each ones work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.”
1 Peter 1:13-19
—

“…set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you…”
Funny how we can read that line and then read this one:
“Be holy, because I am holy.”
and think that it is us to us and our effort to make that happen. We may well say to ourselves, “Okay, I’m supposed to be holy, right? So what do I need to do to make that happen? How can I change myself, my thoughts, my actions, to make this a reality? What can I do to be holy?” Which are all ridiculous questions. We are just told to set our hope –completely– on grace, and yet our minds and hearts turn to what we can do? That’s an attitude that says “Grace isn’t enough, it’s a starter kit toward salvation, but we need to finish it off.” Which, again, is just silly.

If we are to set our hope completely on grace, then we need to let grace be grace and be that thing that makes us holy. As sinful, wayward souls, we cannot look at God, who tells us to be holy, and say “No problem, I’ve got this.” We must let grace be grace. The holy life we live —as a result of grace at work in us— is all a credit to God, not a work we have done. And the work we do for God is evidence of our faith in Him at work in us. He gets all the credit, period. A lack of work is evidence of a lack of faith, but it does not diminish grace itself. We cannot affect grace. We can accept it or refuse it, but we cannot affect it. The holiness that comes to us through grace cannot be changed by us, because it is the holiness of God at work, but it can most definitely create change in us. Grace is enough. Holiness is a gift. None of it is to our credit.

As we GoLove, this understanding will help us to remain humble, and it will also help us understand that we are helping to distribute a gift. It’s a blessing to do, not an obligation. It’s both our calling and our joy. Let grace be grace. Let it shape the rhythms of your life and thoughts. Set you hope completely on it, not on yourself. Let God be your strength today, rest in His grace.