Were: Sanctified — Monday
2 Peter 3:9
God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. (MSG)
We are increasingly impatient people. Websites must load in seconds, or we move on. It’s unreasonable if an online order takes more than two days to arrive. A minute without wifi seems like an eternity. A friend of mine recently reminded me about the days when, if you wanted to have a song you heard on the radio, you’d have to plan a trip to the music store and hope they had the album, cassette, or CD in stock when you arrived. Now you can download the song in seconds. No patience required. I think most of us struggle to tolerate any sort of delay. For me, admittedly, it has to do with control. I want to control the timing of how things play out.
We’re in a teaching series called Were. I’m grateful for the reminder that, in Christ, we don’t have to be defined by the choices we’ve made in the past. The only choice we’re truly defined by is God’s choice to love and forgive. But that’s not all He wants to do. Beyond forgiving us, He wants to grow and form us. The fancy word we use for this is sanctification. God wants to sanctify us and make us holy. You don’t think it’s possible to be holy? I love the perspective Brother Joseph Schmidt brings: “Holiness is within the reach of anyone willing to do God’s will in love at each successive moment as life unfolds.”
In my 46 years as a follower of Jesus, I’ve learned that my growth and formation in Christ will generally come down to 2 things: a willingness to be changed, and time. We’ll spend some time this week thinking about that.
Monday’s Reflection
The next time you’re forced to wait for any reason, consider that an opportunity to express gratitude to the Father for the truth that He patiently and lovingly waits for us.
