Be Holy

Ricky Ketchum

Oct 29, 2025

Impossible standards

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You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.

Leviticus 20:26 (NET)

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Okay, I’ll admit.

I don’t like reading through the book of Leviticus.

It’s pretty dry and filled with a lot of details about ceremonial things and laws that don’t always feel relevant.

However, it does have some significant verses inside it.

For instance, “love your neighbor as yourself” is in there.

So is this verse.

Now, God sets an impossible standard here. He knows we cannot live up to it. Yet He doesn’t lower His standards just because we cannot hope to achieve it.

Nope.

Instead He sets us up for a different plan; one involving a perfect mediator to take our place.

Through Christ we can become holy like God.

Of course not by our own actions. It’s by the work that Christ did for us and His blood that covers our sin. Plus the continuing work of grace that the Holy Spirit does in & through us each day.

Being holy — being set apart from other people — is not something we have to work for. We rely on the work of God. That’s pretty cool in my opinion.

The way to achieve all of this?

Relationship with God.

They say that you’re a reflection of the five people you spend the most time with. Well, if I want to be a reflection of Christ in this world, I better be spending more time with Him than with anyone else.

Time well spent, I would say.

— Ricky Ketchum

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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