The call to holiness, as I have attempted to convey in this article, is a call to become an authentic “child of God” – that is a human being who thinks and acts (i.e., lives) like Jesus, a model of what humans were created to be like. God, however, out of His great love for us, made this a personal choice. He made it a personal choice so that those who embraced the Jesus way of living might freely and voluntarily return His love. Jesus is a prime example of a person who freely returned God’s love. He did this as a human being.

The thing that stops most people from freely changing and embracing the Jesus way of living is their fear of change. Most people don’t easily embrace change.

What is funny about humans is that they only seem to embrace change when the pain of continuing to live as they have always lived is so great that they cannot stand it any longer. As a therapist I repeated encountered this phenomenon. People seemed to only come into therapy when they were at their wits end and even then they would resist changing how they lived. The fear of what life might be like if they changed the way they thought and lived, slowed the process of “getting well.” The most interesting thing about life is that change is necessary in order for it to be dynamic instead of static. I would always say to a client, “If the way that you are living brings you pain, then why keep living the same way? If how you are living is ineffective, why keep living the same way?” The fact of the matter is that growth only comes with change. You cannot grow spiritually, physically or psychologically without change.

So the call to holiness, in my estimation, is also a call to change and to embrace change as a way of living. If we let God and life to guide our change, then the only result can be greater contentment and peace. The opening of one’s mind and heart to life and change will, believe me, only bring a deeper understanding of life.