“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.'”
If you are entering a battle, you need to be prepared. You have to stay alert and know how you are going to fight off your enemy. You need to know how to work with your team and take orders from your commanding officer. You have a specific role to play, but your individuality does not matter. The mission matters. The objective matters.
That is the Christian life. If we want to win against the enemy’s schemes, we have to keep our heads in the game. We need self-control in order to prevent the enemy from taking us hostage using our biggest weaknesses against us. There is no room for playing around — it is a dangerous war we are in. Lives are at stake for all of eternity. (And faith, hope, and love are our most dangerous weapons.)
Here’s your freedom for today: the kingdom of God is worth fighting for. Staying on mission and rejecting your own desires is not easy, but it is worth it. Your eternity and the eternal redemption of the entire world is worth it. And it is no small task. Yet in the midst of struggle and fight there is freedom. We don’t have to wait until the fight is over before we get to live a free life. The act of fighting is an act of choosing the free path. When Satan cannot get to you, you can walk in total freedom. This is what holiness does in your life. It is not a “should,” but rather a glorious free space where you become stronger and more protected from attack. Keep your head in the game today and reject the lie that following Jesus is “too hard.” Living any other life is infinitely more costly.