The Pursuit

When a new Volkswagen Beetle comes off the production line in pristine condition, it has been through a long process. Computerized machines and careful human eyes have labored carefully to achieve the finished product.

Last Sunday, in a sermon on Ruth 1, I reflected on how important it is for the church to seek holiness, both individually and corporately. Naomi’s lack of holiness (see Ruth 1:13, 15, 20-21) was thankfully not a hindrance to Ruth being drawn to the God of Israel. Still, a holy people provides a compelling, attractive picture to outsiders.

I emphasized holiness as distinction. To be holy is to be distinct. The purpose of this emphasis was to offer hope to those who can only see their flawed, feeble faith. Holiness to them seems very hard to attain, even though they greatly desire to attain it.

However, we must still emphasize that holiness is a big deal! So while we shouldn’t be discouraged in our apparent lack of holiness, we should nonetheless keep going forward in our pursuit of it.

Take the challenging verse from the Sermon on the Mount: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The ESV Study Bible describes this phrase “be perfect” as a pursuit. The perfection of the Father is “what all Jesus’ disciples are called to pursue.” In other words, when Jesus says “be perfect,” he assumes that there is an ongoing process that results in a finished product. The ongoing process is your daily striving for knowledge of God and conformity to Christ’s character. And the finished product is the outcome guaranteed for all disciples of Jesus. What is that finished product? It is that the church will one day be presented to Christ “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [the church] might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

The outcome is certain, but it does not negate the importance of the process. Just because the VW Beetle that we see on the street is driving along smoothly, it doesn’t mean that the manufacturing process can be neglected. So keep running the race, keep fighting the good fight. Pursue holiness by God’s grace.