Keep Yourself Holy (1 John 3:3)

When sports teams go on extended overseas tours, they always name reserves who remain at home. Those reserves have to keep themselves in training in case a member of the touring team gets injured. Whilst all the focus is on the touring party, the reserves at home have to keep working hard, hoping that the call to ‘pack up and go’ will come.

In a similar way, the Christian believer needs to keep himself or herself holy knowing that the call to be with Christ could come at any time. As a Christian, we can never have a break from our faith, take time off, or relax. We have to be in training at all times, not because it is wise to do so, not because we are told to, it is because of the hope that is in us. We always know that the future is coming and we need to be ready for it. Its coming will be a surprise, that much we know. We know that Christ is the holy one of God and that he lives within us. Only his holiness can keep us from lapsing into evil. We therefore trust in him even whilst we wait for the call from him.

Keeping oneself holy involves constant attention to the discipline that following Christ entails. We must watch our habits. Attend to prayer and meditation. Maintain an attitude of faith and expectancy. Know always the nearness of God. Care for those around us. Keep close to the Christian community.

Bro David Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)