Be Sanctified

Sometimes reading the Word brings us to uncomfortable places.  One such place is I Thessalonians 5:23 where it is written, "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely."  Another such place is found a little earlier in the same letter and says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification."  (I Thessalonians 4:3)  This word sanctification sends shutters through our soul.  It really frightens us.  First of all, we are not really sure we want to be that much of a Christian.  Fanatics talk about being sanctified, not regular down-to-earth members of mainline Protestant churches.  And secondly, it sounds like something which is impossible.

 

Most of us struggle a bit to understand what the Word is saying to us about this aspect of the spiritual life.  In the beginning my own understanding was too much experience defined.  As the years have gone by, my understanding has changed to speak more of a level of the spiritual life that begins but has no end.  Oswald Chambers, my most read devotional writer, said, "Sanctification means every power of body, soul, and spirit chained and kept for God's purpose only...It means being made one with Jesus so that the disposition that ruled Him will rule us."  When I read these words the other morning, I felt something inside of me saying, "Yes, yes."

 

Sanctification is not so much about a moment, or an experience as it is about a natural and spontaneous life that is lived beyond the reaches of ordinary human endeavor and determined will.  It reveals itself in the unplanned responses to life around us.  It reveals itself in those moments when we act without thinking about the appropriate response.  It reveals itself in such moments because always it is not about what we can do, but what the Holy Spirit is able to do through a life that is waiting on the inner prompting and directive of God.