The writer of Hebrews gives a real challenge, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” That living in peace with everyone is impossible, right? 

Do you see he says WORK AT, not BE AT? Obviously, there are people who will never work with you to be at peace, but that doesn’t mean you stop trying. Continue to work at it. Always.

Then there’s the “work at living a holy life.” Whoa. How do we do that? Our holiness comes from being in a salvation relationship with Christ. Outside that, even obeying all the Ten Commandments (which we can’t do) won’t make a person holy. 

And within the relationship with Christ, we must be obedient to what He says, loving God first, above all, even family, self, and comfort. Then we’re to love our neighbor as ourself. Even the rioter. Even the protestor. Even the mean one. Even the super nice one. Even the fake one. Even the dramatic one. All of them. Love them with compassion born from your relationship with Jesus. The idea being to love them to a salvation relationship of their own – whether for the first time or a return to what they’ve known. 

Today’s the best day to get started. Let’s get to work! 

Coffee, Bible, Journal.