Certain biblical teachings are so non-intuitive! They even seem downright contradictory. No wonder we have such a hard time getting them!

For example, true happiness is gained when we give up on being happy.
Peace comes when we give up the control of our lives, rather than being in total control.
Joy is present not in the absence of difficulties, but in the midst of it.
True freedom comes within boundaries. When we remove those boundaries, we lose our freedom.
When we make it about ourselves, we become more miserable. But when we make it about others, we become honored.

All these principles are exactly opposite of what the world drills into our heads from morning to evening. Perhaps the reason why we find it so hard to understand these biblical principles is not that they are non-intuitive, but that we have been so saturated by the world’s ways that they think biblical ways – which should be natural – unnatural.

How about this one? Be holy!

Jude 20-21
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Being holy doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? As a matter of fact, many of us think being holy means to be boring and to give up on the life of fun. But God intends it to be exactly the opposite. Being holy is being joyful! Being holy is being ecstatic about the mundane things of life because they are imbued with new meanings. Given a choice between being butt drunk at a wild party vs. spending time with wife and kids at the beach… How can I even compare?

Holy people don’t stay away from the worldly fun because they are bad; but they do because they have found something much more fun!

If you think about it, Christian life is not about giving up. I’m aware of Jesus’ saying, “deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me.” But our giving up is never for the sake of just giving up. It is for gaining. It is giving up our life for the gaining of the life that God gives.

Just as a loving Father would never ask his child to give up something if He didn’t have something better in mind, our heavenly Father would not tell us to be holy – set apart – unless it would bring us maximum joy.

Be holy and be set apart from the worldly ways today and experience God’s joy!

Blessings,

PH