Holiness isn’t a word we use lightly. It can sound austere, distant, almost unapproachable. Yet when Peter writes, “Be holy, because I am holy,” he isn’t placing a cold demand upon weary shoulders; he’s echoing the ancient heartbeat of God, drawing us into something beautiful and life-giving.

Peter is quoting from Leviticus, reminding scattered believers that the God who called Israel still calls his people to reflect his character. Holiness begins not with us, but with God. It’s rooted in who he is, not in what we achieve. God is wholly good, utterly faithful, fiercely compassionate, and unwaveringly just. His holiness isn’t sterile separation, it’s blazing purity wrapped in covenant love.

When we hear “be holy”, we might instinctively think of moral perfection, of never putting a foot wrong. But Peter has just urged his readers to set their hope fully on the grace to be brought to them when Jesus Christ is revealed. Holiness, then, grows in the soil of grace. It’s the shape a redeemed life takes. It’s what happens when forgiven people start to resemble the One who forgave them.

To be holy is to belong. In scripture, what is holy is set apart for God’s purposes. We aren’t withdrawn from the world, but we are no longer defined by its distortions. Our values shift. Our loves are reordered. We find ourselves resisting old patterns, not from fear, but because they no longer fit who we are becoming.

There’s tenderness here. The command sits within the language of family: as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. Holiness is relational. It’s about reflecting our Father’s likeness. Just as children often carry the expressions and gestures of their parents, so we’re invited to carry God’s character into ordinary life, in our speech, our choices, our hidden thoughts.

And we don’t walk this road alone. The Spirit quietly works within us, shaping instincts, convicting gently, strengthening resolve. Holiness is less about striving to impress God, and more about surrendering to the God who already calls us his own.

“Be holy, because I am holy.” It’s not a threat, it’s an invitation. An invitation to live differently, deeply, distinctly, because we belong to the Holy One, and his life is at work in us.