Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12.14
Make every effort leaves us in no doubt that God expects us to do some things and not leave everything to him concerning certain aspects of our lives. As parents, we would expect that as our children get older, that they take on a participatory role, somewhat in their growth and development and when this doesn’t happen, we will get worried about delays in their maturity. There are some things that God expects us to do and some things He alone can do.
Make every effort also implies that some aspects of following Jesus won’t be an easy ride, there will be lots of things that will oppose, hinder, dampen our resolve to keep going strong but we must continue to strive to ensure that we are not left behind in what God seeks to do in and through our lives. This is a warning to those who are falling off the rails, Jesus says you don’t have to give up trying, His strength is available. And for those who are still going strong, a reminder to keep giving in that little extra so we don’t end up on the way side. To both the faithless and faithful, Jesus says, keep going.
As we strive to do all we can, with what we have, as long as we can, we must remember to rely on the Lord, He is the one who has called us to this mission, his strength is greater than ours, he is the one who will ensure we complete what he has asked us to do. it’s almost like a partnership, as we make every effort enabled by the Lord but also look unto him to keep going. We are never on own, struggling and labouring without his help and we are also not just idle, doing nothing, waiting for life to happen.
The unknown writer of the book of Hebrews encourages believers to live in peace with everyone. This sounds almost impractical, you might say. Everyone? Is he referring to everyone in the entire world or everyone just within our relationship orbits? Can we really live in peace with everyone? For peace to exist, there must be a cooperation between two people, we may not have control over another person, but we can ensure that from our end, we are peacemakers. Some people enjoy strife and contention, whatever makes their blood boil and don’t want any peace at all, we can’t compel them to enjoy the peace if they don’t want it.
If we claim to love Jesus and have surrendered our hearts to the Lord, our prayer is that Christ will be formed in us and the fruit of His Spirit evident in our lives. If Jesus is the Prince of peace and peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, are we truly disciples of Jesus when His peace is lacking in our lives? Many have lost the opportunities to share their faith with others because of their reputation as troublemakers. To make every effort to leave in peace implies that cannotare not able to engage in peaceful negotiations and compromise, they either want to control others or quietly allow others take advantage of them, I believe a balance is required. As we lean on the Spirit for wisdom and guidance, we can allow him to direct our next steps.
And to be holy. What does it mean to be holy? None of us can or will ever the status of complete holiness on this side of eternity, hence the encouragement to make every effort. God knows there’s a difference between someone who is doing all they can with the strength of His Spirit to stay away from ungodliness, immorality and idolatry and the person who is clearly making no effort to become like Christ. Both may attend the same Sunday service and hear the same sermon about pursuing holiness, yet one person is convicted and commits to pleasing the Lord at any cost, while the other remains unchanged, disregarding the message and making no conscious effort to alter their lifestyle or devotion to God.
The Lord knows those who are his and let them who profess to be known by the name of the Lord depart from evil. Let’s not hop around town telling anyone that we are holy if we don’t consistently walk by the opportunities to commit evil. Making every effort to be holy is not a clarion call to increase our attendance at church events or demonstrate more acts of piety. The pursuit of holiness is an internal and ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Just because we have surrendered our hearts to the Lord, it doesn’t imply that we have forgotten how to sin but each time we are overwhelmed by out lustful desires, we run to the foot of cross and plead for mercy and grace to live for Jesus.
The garb of holiness won’t fall from the sky on any of us. There is a price to pay to attain holiness. Hence the encouragement to ‘make every effort’. Jesus says if one of our eyes, hands or feet causes us to sin, it’s better to cut it off than go into hell with both. He is obviously not referring to the physical amputation of our body parts, but the intentional, consistent and committed action to stay away from anyone or anything that will draw us away from the Lord. This price won’t be a one-off pill or jab, but an ongoing commitment to please the Master.
‘Make every effort’ might mean excusing yourself from certain relationships that don’t encourage or challenge you to pursue the Lord wholeheartedly, might mean cancelling certain subscriptions to services that enable us to return to our old ways or moving away from certain neighbourhoods or even resigning from jobs knee deep in white-collar crimes. I don’t know what effort you have to put in to be holy but God is able and won’t abandon you. Sometimes we desire to lead a holy life, but we are stuck in unholy and systems and immoral structures that put us under pressure to be and do otherwise. We must rely on God for uncommon wisdom to deal with these extreme evils.
Is it possible to live in peace with everyone but not be holy? Could we put in more effort into one but not the other? We favor simpler tasks and overlook challenges, yet the call is to work diligently on peacemaking, holiness, as well as every other area of our lives. We should be concerned about every aspect of our spiritual and personal growth, striving to excel as we become like Christ. Some people are happy to holy but might be lazy, others are peace makers but never keep their word. Some are passionate about the Father’s business but are dishonest and proud. May the Lord enable and equip us to be whole and complete vessels fit for the Master’s use.
It’s frightening that without holiness, we will not ‘see’ the Lord. This letter, written to believers who already had faith in Jesus, clarifies that this isn’t about getting to heaven. Without pursuing holiness, we will not experience all that God has in store for us. Sin and iniquity puts a barrier to sustaining a broken fellowship with the Lord. If our hearts and hands are defiled, then God will not answer our prayers; our service to Him will be fruitless, and our work for the kingdom will be in vain. God is calling us to pursue a higher life of sanctification, surrender and consecration, as we lay down our desires, lusts and selfish ambitions to follow Him.
Lord, I need you every hour. Change me into the image of your Son, purify me as gold, burn up everything in me that no longer brings you glory. Amen.