Day 355

December 21st
Hebrews 13:1-25; 1 Peter 1:1-2:3.  “Holiness”
In the forests of Northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter.  He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine.  They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree.  They smear the entrance and interior with grime.  The hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine.  The frightened animal flees toward home, but doesn’t enter because of the filth.  Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity.  For the ermine, purity is more precious than life.
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy” (1 Peter 1:15).  How important is holiness to you?  To live the word is to practice the pursuit of holiness.  We have the living word (John 1:14) dwelling inside us (2 Cor. 11:10).   This is not only what makes us holy, but it also calls us to holiness.