What does it mean to you to be set apart? Have you thought about what it means to be purified? Do you understand what it means to be consecrated? Does being sanctified have an effect on your life? Does it change how you view yourself?
Though most of us know that we have been forgiven of our sin, we may not view ourselves as being consecrated. Though we may be thankful for having been saved, we may not realize we have been set apart by God. We may not understand that we have been purified.
We go through trials in our lives. We may stumble along the way. We may find ourselves in the trenches, covered in the muck and mire of difficult situations. We may feel overwhelmed. We may even think God has abandoned us or ask him where he is at in all the mess. This life can be difficult at times. It can drag us down. That is when we need to pause, take stock in belonging to Christ, and remember that we have been sanctified.
What does it mean to be sanctified? It means we have been made holy. It means God is always with us. It means God cares deeply about us. It means he has claimed us as his own. It means that God continually works on our behalf, even if we cannot always see it.
How are we sanctified? Through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live within us. He never leaves us. He is our guide. He is our helper. He is our advocate. And since the Holy Spirit is God as well, he is working in other lives. He weaves us all together like a beautiful tapestry. We are sanctified and part of God’s beautiful tapestry through the work of the Holy Spirit.
I pray we all understand that we belong to God. I pray we know that we have been sanctified. I pray each of us know the Holy Spirit is working within us and for us, creating God’s beautiful tapestry. You have been set apart. You have been purified. You have been consecrated. You have been sanctified. The Holy Spirit is in you. The Holy Spirit is working for you.
1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Marty Pressey 