“After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 18:3,4

The Lord called His people Israel to be a separate people, different from the surrounding nations. God had set Israel apart for Himself. He didn’t want them to live in the sinful practices, recorded in Leviticus, of the Egyptians or the Canaanites.

Likewise today, true Christians are people set apart by God. They have been given the privileged status of being called out by God. Therefore, we are to live in a way that reflects that. God tells His people, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Pet. 1:16). To be holy is, again, to be set apart, consecrated to God. So, we are to live as set apart from the corrupt values of the world, set apart from our own sinful nature, set apart from a fallen world system.

God is greatly concerned that His children reflect that they are in the family. We are to look like we belong! May the Lord help us to be set apart in our words, our thoughts, our hearts, our actions, our entertainment, our values, our way of life in general. To put it bluntly, “If you’re a child of God…act like it!”

When we think about holiness, are we to develop an arrogant we vs. them, good guys vs. bad guys attitude towards the world? Not at all. We’re not called to live in monasteries or convents, but to live in this corrupt world, while not being of this world. The hope is, that as we seek to walk in set-apart, Christ-like ways, we will be glorifying to God as well as an attractive light to some groping around in darkness.