Equipped for holiness

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  –1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
 
Wow – that sounds really good! But just how, exactly, am I supposed to accomplish holiness? Well, it turns out we have a precedent. In Exodus 25-30, God was establishing a pattern of worship for His people. The instructions were VERY specific. (Some would say demanding, but I confess there have been times when I wished God had spelled out His will for me a little more specifically!)
 
Side note: God does not need our devotion or our praise – He will be God whether or not humans recognize Him as such. His call to worship is for our benefit. He wanted to draw close to His people, and He needed them to understand and remember who He was and to see their relationship with Him as something special – holy. But how could they possibly adhere to such rigorous standards?
 
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him.
Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”  –Exodus 31:1-11 (NIV)
 
God equipped artists, metal-workers, craftsmen, gem-cutters, builders, weavers, tanners, tailors, perfumers, and spicers with the skills they needed to carry out the work. Then He placed them under the skilled, knowledgeable, and wise leadership of Bezalel, who was filled with the Spirit of God (even in the Old Testament), and Oholiab, his assistant.
 
God provided the vision for something that seemed overwhelming, then provided the resources needed to finish the assignment. I’m convinced there are no trivial assignments with God. When Paul called upon Christians to “offer our bodies as a living sacrifice”, he consecrated all our work as worship. I believe God still calls His people to work that stretches us, then equips the accomplishment of His sacred assignments. He calls us holy, then He sets out to make us holy. How about that?!
 
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  –Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)