Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:14-15 NIV
Being holy and not allowing roots of bitterness are two sides of the life of faith. Being holy is about what I do, while not allowing bitterness is about what you do to me.
"See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God" is like a bridge between the two. The grace of God applies to both you and me. You need grace and I need grace. I am going to try to be holy but, I will fail sometimes (that's not an excuse, that's just reality) I will fall short of holiness. Now, the author of Hebrews doesn't say, "See to it that no one falls short of holiness" he says, "the grace of God". Our faith is in his grace, not our holiness.
Bitterness comes when I have unreal expectations of myself and/or others. I forget that I sin and that others will sin, too. I forget that Jesus is interceding for me, because I sin. I need grace. Just as God in Christ forgives me, I need to be forgiving others. Grace allows us both to rest in Christ's holiness.
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