#27 LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HOLINESS
We often hear the familiar phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Those words describe noble desires. We want to live. We want to be free. We want the opportunity to pursue what we believe will make our lives meaningful. But for the Christian, there is something greater than the pursuit of happiness. There is a higher pursuit. It is the pursuit of holiness.
God gives us life, but He does not give us life merely so we can spend it pursuing our own pleasures. He gives us life so that we might know Him, serve Him, and glorify Him. Our lives are not accidents, and they are not ultimately our own. We were created by God and for God. “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36).
Then there is liberty. The world often defines liberty as the freedom to do whatever we want. The Bible gives us a better definition. True liberty is not freedom from God. It is freedom to live for God. Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Sin promises freedom but produces slavery. Christ calls us out of slavery and into the freedom of obedience.
Christian liberty does not mean, “I can do whatever I please.” It means, “I am no longer controlled by whatever pleases me.” There is tremendous freedom in that. When Christ breaks the chains of sin, we are no longer slaves to our appetites, our anger, our pride, our lusts, or the approval of other people. We are free to become what God created us to be.
And that brings us to holiness. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is not merely avoiding certain sins. Holiness is belonging completely to God. It is allowing Him to shape our thoughts, our words, our desires, our relationships, and our conduct. It is becoming increasingly like Christ.
The pursuit of holiness is different from the pursuit of happiness. Happiness says, “What will make me feel good?” Holiness asks, “What will make me more like Jesus?” Happiness may come and go with circumstances. Holiness produces a joy that circumstances cannot take away. Happiness can be pursued selfishly. Holiness teaches us to surrender ourselves to God.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God gives us. But happiness was never meant to be the highest goal of life. If happiness becomes our god, we will sacrifice almost anything to obtain it. But when holiness becomes our pursuit, we discover something far better. We discover that the greatest life is not the life in which we get everything we want. It is the life in which we become everything God wants us to be.
So pursue life, but pursue eternal life. Cherish liberty, but pursue the liberty Christ gives. And pursue happiness when God graciously gives it, but never make it your highest goal. Above everything else, pursue holiness.
Because the greatest life is a life surrendered to God. The greatest liberty is freedom from the dominion of sin. And the greatest pursuit is not happiness, wealth, success, or recognition.
It is holiness.
________________
Father, thank You for the gift of life and the freedom You give through Jesus Christ. Deliver me from the slavery of sin and teach me to use my freedom to serve You. Turn my heart away from merely pursuing happiness and make holiness the great pursuit of my life. Make me more like Jesus every day. In His name, Amen.
BDD
