How Do You Prepare For Holy Living?

If you fail to plan, plan to fail. Statements like that are cliché for a reason. They are so true and so observable in everyday life they cement themselves into our consciousness. We have all seen the need for preparation, even if we are not good at doing it. Regardless, the need for preparation is ubiquitous. Every different activity has its own unique preparation requirements. Athletes prepare their bodies for specific exertion. Professors read extensively and organize what they have learned. Carpenters have a blueprint, measure twice, and cut once. Military generals train their troops and develop a battle strategy. But how do you prepare for holy living?

There is an interesting call for preparation found in 1 Peter 1:13 which says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action…” What makes this interesting is the specific way the key word “therefore” is pointing backwards, telling us that there is something back there that drives how and why we should prepare our minds for action.

“Therefore” is probably calling us to look at the whole of verses 2-12. Yet there is a particular way that Peter ends this section that should grab us by our shirt collars and shake us from our apathetic haze. Verses 2-12 are all about this great salvation secured for us. In verses 2-3, each person of the triune God is involved. In verses 4-8, Peter describes how great this salvation is and why the testing and growing of our faith is necessary.

But look closely at verses 10-12. There are two groups that are mentioned. First, there are the prophets. Second, there are the Angels. The prophets desired to know more and more about this great salvation. They searched. They made careful inquiries. You can imagine them hunched over their writing, and the writings of the other prophets, trying to piece the puzzle together. You can imagine them pleading with God in prayer about how this will all work. Yet, it became clear that some things, glorious things, would have to remain a mystery till a future time. That people in the future would get a treasure the prophets could only dream of beholding.

Then there are the Angels. All we are told about is their longing. They see the brilliant glory of God daily. Yet, they want more. They want to know what it is to be hidden in Christ, even as a sinner. But try as they might, this glory is not for them.

So, there are two groups who are applying their minds with all their might to understand the power of the gospel. Oh, how they want to know it. They are looking and searching and longing, but God has not opened that door of understanding to them.

Then there is you and me. Here we are sitting on our couch wondering if there is anything good to watch on television. We scan the channels, endure some commercials, and waste away an evening with a few chuckles or a plot twist. What have are we doing? What foolishness is this? The prophets would rebuke us. The Angels stand aghast. This great salvation is ours to plunge into, yet we play around with it on Sunday and ignore it the rest of the week. This is unthinkable.

So Peter says, prepare you minds. Think on these things. Meditate on them. Get your brain equipped with glory and suited with the armor of the gospel. If you are going to make any progress at all, it will be because you have a correct launching pad, a solid foundation, a tap root that sinks deep into majesty. The prophets and Angels have given us an example of the type of pursuit we should be make in this regard. This is so important because our actions will flow from what we believe. If our beliefs about all things are not shaped and directed and permeated with gospel glories, our actions will go awry.

So, prepare your minds. Prepare them by drinking deep from the gospel. The gospel is simple, but it is not simplistic. Its depths are unfathomable. There is nothing in life that will not be affected by this. The epistles demonstrate this over and over again in countless situations. Drink deeply from this and your mind will be prepared for holy living, because holy living begins when our minds are captivated by all that God will be and do for us in Christ.