Holiness #3—Unashamed Holiness

May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for fellow Christians, and for all others … so that your hearts might be established unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13

When Jesus comes with all his holy ones, we will want to stand before God without shame, unable to be blamed for not delighting in his glory enough to extend his goodness throughout creation. Paul’s benedictory prayer gives us hope for such a possibility and shows us how it can be accomplished. We can expect to be blameless because it is Jesus himself who will enable us to attain this end. Jesus, the incarnation of the Father’s love, can cause us to increase and abound with the affection that moves us to do good to others, whether or not they confess Jesus as Lord. What initiates Jesus’ action on our behalf is prayer. When he answers our prayers, others will benefit from the good we do in Jesus’ name. When he answers our prayers, our hearts will be even more precious to the Father, more open to his approbation. A holy heart, in his eyes, is one in which love stands as the pinnacle of our motivational hierarchy. To the extent that Christ enables us to be better lovers, to that extent will we be unashamed at the judgment. For actions that flow from seeing others as valuable are what make us supremely valuable to those around us.

Righteous Father, I want to receive your approval even now. Grant Paul’s prayer for me. Keep me from temporary or superficial love so that I may be valuable to others and holy to you, through Jesus my Lord.