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1 Peter 1:13-16
By William L. Raker

Sometimes we remember our teen years as a time of innocence, freedom and burden-free living. But that is extremely selective remembering, at best. When we are most honest, we have to admit that they were tough years.

We were at an age when we were connecting with role models. More importantly, our connection and discipline in following role models had to do with developing the kind and quality of life we wanted to live.

No matter who the role model was, good of bad, there were values and behaviors we rather liked that we were going to have to leave behind, and other behaviors we knew little about, yet by which we were drawn. The teen years were ones of preparing our minds and disciplining ourselves for action as adults.

To all of us who hear the call of God and respond to God?s grace there is this challenging demand: 'You shall be holy for I am holy.'

For the Christian, God is defined, understood, revealed in Jesus Christ as our role model. The mercy, the goodness, the love, the patience, the forgiveness of God are not simply wondrous attributes of God inspiring our praise; they are attributes of life to which we are called by God.

God?s holiness refers to the fact that God is other than the world. Christ, the Son of God, stands out from the world because he is holy as God is holy. We who bear his name are called to such holy living.

Just as our children bear traits and characteristics that mark them as 'our' children, we are called to bear the marks of the 'family of God.'

This is not a cake walk. In 1 Peter the words 'prepare' and 'discipline' are used to describe our growing in godlikeness. To be sure, the writer reminds us that the grace of God is given along with God?s call; we do not pursue the journey solo.

But it is a journey ? a journey to be pursued with all our focused energy even as were those formative teen years. We do not fall into holy living by happy accident; we enter into it and grow by discipline ? the biblical word is discipleship.

Such living is so much what the world needs. How awed the world was by the Amish practice of forgiveness in the wake of the recent horrific murders of Amish children. The graces of godliness stand in stark contrast to the empty and destructive ways of the secular community.

Let us prepare our minds and discipline ourselves for living holy lives by the grace of a holy God.

The Rev. William Raker is a retired pastor in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

A DEVOTIONAL
for the Discipleship Adventure

Connect: Many times, our first response in a challenging situation is to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind ? not always a grace-filled response. Prepare for holy action by practicing responses to difficult situations. When did you last meet someone with a stinging reply rather than grace? How could you have reacted differently? The next time, take a deep breath before answering ? and rely on grace to carry the moment. You could practice this with someone whom you trust.

Develop: Consider how God is calling you to live a life of holiness. Explore a variety of spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, Bible study, fasting, service, and tithing, and practice one of these disciplines in a daily and intentional manner in the coming months. How will this practice help you to 'grow in godlikeness?'

Share: Return to someone who was on the receiving end of one of those off-the-cuff responses and whom you probably hurt. First ask forgiveness. Secondly, share how you are learning to give more grace-filled responses as a result of encountering the Scripture.