During the Spaces series, Beyond the Weekend will preview the coming weekend’s message rather than looking back at the previous one—mirroring our group curriculum and helping prepare our hearts for the upcoming sermon. This week, that means looking ahead to The Temple.

Read: 1 Peter 1:15–16 | Listen: 1 Peter 1

For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

Be holy, as Jesus is holy. Is Peter serious? He includes this weighty command in his letter to a young and persecuted church. Peter knows what holiness is because he observed it firsthand. He was one of Jesus’s closest disciples and friends, and he watched Jesus in public moments and private spaces. He knows that true holiness is only possible for Jesus. And yet, Peter tells them to imitate the Holy One who called them. He does this with confidence, reminding them of two things. First, growing in holiness begins with putting their hope in the right place. One day Jesus will return and make them holy (1 Peter 1:13). Second, they can pursue holiness now because they are God’s children (1 Peter 1:14). As his children, they have God’s Spirit inside them. A holy life is possible because of their identity in Christ.

We, too, can grow in holiness as beloved children. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has paid the price for our sin, and his Holy Spirit now dwells in us. When God looks at us, he sees Jesus’s holiness and the promise of grace fulfilled. This makes a holy life possible. We can grow in holiness in our habits, choices, and patterns. With every yes and no, we can look more and more like Jesus. Peter’s invitation to a holy life is ours, too.

TODAY: We are called to grow in holiness. Journal the ways you’ve grown in Christlikeness over the last year. Consider asking a friend what they have observed.