My eyes heavy, I read over the same line again and again trying to concentrate. In frustration I repeated to myself, “Just one more chapter. Read, pay attention, stay awake.”

Reading through Leviticus felt more like reading a boring history textbook than digging into God’s word. I knew deep down that this was an important part of God’s living word, but I felt like the heart of God was buried beneath 27 chapters of not-so-exciting words like “procedures” and “instructions” that seemed to have no practical application to my faith today. Honestly, I skimmed through the chapter, checked off my reading plan, and let the seemingly boring words of Leviticus escape my mind. Until a couple of years later . . .

With a group of encouraging friends, I committed to read through my Bible over the course of a year.

As I approached the chapter of Leviticus, I heard God whisper to me to not just read His words, not just skim through the chapter, but to listen to His voice. I read with open eyes and an open heart. Sprinkled into the long list of laws, another word caught my attention: holy. The word appears numerous times through the pages of Leviticus. This word holy reaches its climatic emphasis in Leviticus 20:26 . . .

You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.

Through these words, I realized that God wasn’t just asking this of the Israelites, but he extends this same calling to you and me today.

The word holy here can be translated as “separate from human infirmity, impurity, and sin.” God’s chosen people were entering a culture of sin, but God was calling them to be different. Can we relate? We are surrounded by a world of darkness. However, through Christ, God has chosen each and everyone of us to be His, just like He chose the Israelites so long ago.

Still, He beckons us with the same call: to be holy. This plea for holiness sets the stage for the rest of the Bible as God calls us not to conform, but to be transformed {see Romans 12:1-2}, to be salt and light {see Matthew 5:13-16}, and to be children of the light {see Ephesians 5:8}.

God’s vision for our life looks very different than what this world will try to offer us.

The world will shout loudly; God will whisper quietly.

The world gives us false hope; the Word offers truth.

The world asks us to fit in; Jesus calls us to be set apart.

Holiness is a choice.

God has chosen us and He has set us apart for His glory, all we must do is choose Him. Holiness is about so much more than a list of what we can and cannot do; holiness is about putting God’s will above our selfish desires and ways of this world. Holiness is being in this world, but not of it {see John 17:16}.

We don’t choose holiness for the sake of pride or to judge the world around us. We don’t become holy to earn God’s favor; He has already chosen us in the midst of our sin. It’s not about us at all, it’s about Christ. If our mission is driven by pride or by self-righteousness, we simply become modern-day Pharisees. Instead, we choose holiness for God’s glory, living as a loving light in this dark world as we share the compassion and grace that God has shown to us with others.

This call to holiness may seem impossible, but the disciples once asked, “Then who in the world can be saved?”

And Jesus gently responded with grace-laced eloquence:

Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God, everything is possible. {Matthew 19:26}

There is comfort in these words, we don’t have to strive anymore because God has already chosen us in the midst of our sin. Just like God tells His people in Leviticus, we are God’s very own. Rest in the assurance that you are His. Sisters, let’s run to the feet of Jesus. He has already chosen us to be set us apart as holy.

Will we choose Him?

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