 |
| Basilica of St. John, Ephesus, Turkey. |
But what is Sanctification for Christians and does it matter?
In
plain words, Sanctification is a journey we take as Christians where we grow to
be more like Jesus…and yes it matters, even for people who dislike old churchy
words!
Here
is one I found online which is a bit more heavily laden which church language:
Sanctification is the state of growing
in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion.
We cannot sanctify ourselves…yet we must remember that our faith is an active 2-way relationship with God, where we retain our free will, so we do have a part to play as we travel through life and the journey of sanctification.
Exercising our free will during
our Christian Sanctifying journey can look like the following:
- Choosing to pray and being dedicated to prayer
- Listening for God’s leading
- Reading the Bible for correction, encouragement and direction
- Being obedient to what The Lord puts upon your heart
- Choosing to be faithful in difficult times, not just the good ones
- Becoming less inwardly, self-focused and more outwardly focused, loving others
- Growing in humility and a servant heart
- Having a face that reflects Jesus’
Sanctification
is not some church doctrine made up to control people and God is not a mean
task-master who wants to change your individuality and take away your free-will
either…
Sanctification is a necessary process because God is Holy and wants to transform your heart to beat in unison with His and this takes time as our natural state is a nature with a sinful bent.
The
process of Sanctification enables us to walk closer and closer to Jesus, to
become better at rejecting the world’s lies and do good, faithful deeds of
love, for God’s Kingdom to reach others through us…
How
is your Sanctification journey going? It’s
a good question we can ask ourselves, pray about and seek The Lord’s leading
on.
Let
me leave you with the song, The Face of Love by Sanctus Real:
Melanie :)
2 comments:
Mel, very good. Sanctification is one of those two-bit church words that is a fancy name for the reward we receive as we walk as an identified child of God. We are "set apart" by the new heart, soul and mind. We are transformed into the likeness of Christ. Granted it is a lifelong process this side of heaven, but it offers joy when someone identifies us as a Christian by our actions and attitude. It is truly a work of God through our daily lives! A gift of grace for certain...received, not acheived.
Amen, Mike!
Post a Comment