Hungering For Holiness

September 30, 2014 | By Chuck

The workplace beheading of an innocent female employee in Moore, Oklahoma last week makes me sad and takes me to my knees in prayer. The deceased body of kidnapped real estate agent Beverly Carter earlier this week got my attention and caused me to cry out to God in prayer. Both of these stories broke my heart and even angered me, a lot. But the truth of the matter is neither of these stories shocked me. Did you catch that? I was saddened by the two murders but not shocked in the least by either of them. That's sad and tells us that I'm used to and even expect to hear stories of evil in this life. After hearing the reports of these stories and praying for those left in grief, I find myself hungering for holiness. When utter and sheer evil doesn't shock us, we need to hunger for holiness. In a world that laughs at holiness and sees no need for it, I say we need to hunger for holiness. I ask you do you crave and hunger for holiness. Holiness is right living and living for a Holy God. As the bride of Christ, God's chosen people we are to be holy so we should hunger for holiness. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."(I Pet.2:9) As long as we live in this life we will have evil among us but we will only have holiness if God's people will be less influenced by the world and hunger for holiness. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."(Mt.5:6)