Were: Sanctified — Wednesday
2 Peter 3:18a
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NLT)
You are sanctified, set apart, and holy. We’ve learned this week that there are two things simultaneously true about Christain sanctification: When we repent and choose to follow Jesus, we are made holy in God’s eyes. We are sanctified. That part is done. But there is also an ongoing, sanctifying work that will continue as we allow it for the rest of our lives. This is what Peter referred to in today’s verse as growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As long as we’re alive, there’s the possibility of growth. When we stop growing, we stop living.
But there’s a reality about growth that every believer must eventually embrace. And it’s not a reality that we enter into very willingly, if we’re honest. I’m talking about the role that suffering plays in our growth and formation. We will grow more through disappointments, loss, and pain than through our successes. I’m not excited that God has chosen this pathway as the most effective way for us to learn how to trust and grow, but He has. Being sanctified almost sounds like a title given to us as a reward for followership. But following Jesus will cost us something, just as Jesus’ obedience to His Father cost Him something.
In order for us to grow, we must acknowledge the need to change. Rick Warren put it this way: “There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change. And change means you let go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things.” Letting go of the old and grabbing hold of the new and better… that is sanctification.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Jesus' invitation is to follow Him, not just in the way of forgiveness and freedom, but in the way of the cross. This will require laying aside our own ego and strength, just as Jesus did. We’ll need the Father’s help to do that today.
