Were: Sanctified — Thursday
Hebrews 10:12, 14
But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.… For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. (NLT)
I have several friends who are licensed counselors. I’m very grateful for how they have been gifted and trained to help guide people through every imaginable, and sometimes unimaginable, challenge. I have even personally benefited from the perspective offered through counseling. As a pastor, people often ask for a meeting with me to process difficulties. It’s very rewarding when someone leaves my office with a new way of seeing and a burden partially lifted. I say partially lifted because the common challenge pastors and counselors have in walking with people is that there is only so much we can do to help. In other words, a fresh perspective can definitely help with managing feelings, but there’s only One who can reach and settle forever the source of someone’s pain or guilt, whether caused by wounds or sin. One of the more difficult aspects of being a pastor is watching people choose to try and carry a burden themselves because they fear what it will take to confront it and release it.
If we’re not careful, we could see sanctification as the process whereby we try super hard to will our own way into goodness and holiness. The writer of Hebrews in today’s verse reminds us, though, that Jesus has done the work for us. Through the offering of His life, He forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And there it is again, the truth that something HAS happened and something IS happening simultaneously. We are fully forgiven AND being made holy. Sanctification is about choosing and allowing. We choose to embrace and live out our identity in Christ while also allowing the Father to form and mold us through the uncertainties of life.
Thursday’s Reflection
How hard do you work at sanctifying yourself? Choose to release what you’re holding on to. You can trust that the Father knows exactly how to respond.
