Sanctification? What’s that?

This was the question my youngest son asked me just recently. Such a soul-shaping and overarching theme in my own life, I realized I had not communicated its important meaning and imperative well to my children, especially my youngest son.

I remember when I first encountered this idea… the idea of being sanctified, of being set apart. I was reading the scriptures:

“This is the will of God, your sanctification…” – I Thess 4:3

Well, how wonderful! A clear concrete declaration of God’s will for me! Not some mystical hide and seek exercise. His will was made plain to me in this verse. My sanctification!

After the initial excitement of such a profound discovery, the questions came… But what does this mean? And then, of course, came the follow up question – How?

Rats! The wrestling and quest for understanding had only just been ignited…

I have to confess I did not readily embrace what I began to learn as I search the scriptures. Set apart?!? I had spent much of my life working hard on fitting in, following the crowd, … And the idea of being sanctified, or in the process of sanctification, didn’t that sound arrogant, superior, and perhaps even self-righteous? I wasn’t sure what this meant. This wasn’t going to be easy and certainly not something natural to me and my understanding.

Perhaps you too have had similar thoughts and feelings about this word, this command, this declaration of the will of God.

So I now hope to explore this word and principle this coming year and share the posts here… On my blog: SANCTIFIED Woman. With the hopes of enlarging our own understanding while also growing in our ability to lead our own family in this understanding, we’ll allow the potter to shape us and transform our understanding.

Grace and truth are found on His wheel…