Pursue holiness
Without which none will see God
The writer to the Hebrews uses an urgent verb: pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Pursue — chase after, run hard after, make it your aim. Holiness is not something that drifts upon us if we wait passively; it is something we are commanded to actively pursue, with the energy of a chase.
And the stakes could hardly be higher: the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. This is not an optional refinement for advanced believers, but something bound up with seeing God himself. Holiness and the vision of God are linked, as we saw with the pure in heart who see God — the pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of the clear sight of God, the clearing away of all that would obscure him.
This pursuit is, of course, empowered by grace and the Spirit, never mere self-effort — but it is a pursuit nonetheless, requiring our active engagement. Having these promises, Paul says, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We do not earn holiness or manufacture it alone, but we do pursue it, deliberately and energetically, as those who long to see the Lord. Are you actively pursuing holiness, or passively hoping it will somehow arrive?
“Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord.”
— To the Hebrews — Hebrews 12:14 (WEB)
Actively pursue holiness — chasing it with energy as the very thing without which no one will see the Lord — rather than passively hoping it will arrive.
“Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Somewhere we quietly decided holiness was a byproduct — a thing that would accrue on its own if we stayed near church and out of trouble — and so we never actually went after it. The interior work is to trade that drift for desire: to want the clear sight of God enough to chase what clears the way to it, leaning the whole pursuit on grace while refusing to mistake grace for passivity.
This week, move from passive to active in your pursuit of holiness: name one defilement of body or spirit to deliberately cleanse, and chase holiness in that area with the energy of a pursuit, depending on grace as you go.
The age around us prizes comfort and calls a hunger for holiness fanatical, so the pursuit stalls quietly into waiting. But holiness was never going to drift onto the passive; it is chased — and the one who chases it, leaning hard on grace, presses toward the very sight of God that comfort can never give.
We often treat holiness passively, as something that might gradually settle on us if we simply attend church and avoid obvious sins. The writer to the Hebrews uses a far more active verb: pursue holiness — chase it, run hard after it, make it your deliberate aim. Holiness does not drift upon the passive; it is pursued by those who want it.
And the stakes are the highest imaginable: the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. This binds the pursuit of holiness to the vision of God himself; to chase holiness is to chase the clear sight of God, clearing away all that would obscure him. This pursuit is empowered by grace, never mere self-effort — but it is a pursuit, requiring our active, energetic engagement, our deliberate cleansing of body and spirit. So examine your posture toward holiness: are you actively pursuing it, with the energy of a chase, or passively hoping it will somehow arrive on its own?
- Do I treat holiness passively, hoping it will arrive on its own?
- Am I pursuing holiness with the energy of a chase?
- What defilement do I need to deliberately cleanse to see the Lord more clearly?
Lord, I treat holiness passively, hoping it will settle on me, when you command me to pursue it. Stir me to chase it with energy, empowered by your grace, cleansing myself of all defilement, that I may pursue the very sight of you, without which none will see the Lord. Amen.