Set Apart to Serve Himনমুনা

Day 2 – To be Holy

To be holy is to have a life that is pure and set apart to serve God, that is, separated from sin. In fact, it is to be like Jesus.

REFERENCE VERSES:

John 17:15-19 

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 

17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 

18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 

19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

REFLECTIONS:

Read John 17 :15-19 and take a moment to respond to the following questions: 

➤ Because Jesus is without sin, why did He need to be made holy?

➤ What conclusions can we make? 

➤ Using the text, make a complete description of your way of understanding holiness. 

CONTENT:

Jesus continues His prayer with these words: “Sanctify them by the truth…For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” In order to understand Jesus’ prayer, we need to establish the significance of the word “holiness.” To be holy signifies quite simply to be separated from profane things in order to be set apart for God or, in other words, to live for God and no longer for oneself. How is this possible?

In His prayer, Jesus will say something that is quite extraordinary; “I sanctify myself for them…” And yet Jesus is without sin, so why would He need to be sanctified? For us! Jesus completely consecrated Himself to the will of the Father so that we can become perfect just as He is perfect. Jesus came to live as a simple man for us. He gave His life for us, He was crucified and He died. On the third day, He was resurrected for us and He intercedes for us next to the Father day and night, without interruption. That is His sanctification for us!

Jesus set Himself apart for us when He came to earth. He did nothing for Himself or according to His own will, but He was 100% consecrated to accomplish what the Father wanted, so that we could be forgiven and reconciled with God. He not only opened up the way to the Father, but He also showed us the path to follow for a life set apart to fulfill the will of God. And so because of what Jesus has done for us, we cannot stay indifferent by continuing to live our lives for ourselves. We are invited to respond by following His example; setting our lives completely apart to serve Him!

Setting oneself apart for Jesus is not a question of having to do it, it’s simply the result of a relationship of love for our Saviour and Lord. He no longer calls us servant, but friend (cf. John 15:15). Someone who is about to get married will choose to separate themself from a celibate life, they will “bury it” so that they will be set apart with their partner. The lifestyle and even the entire life of this person are going to be completely changed by love for their partner. It is the same for us; it is by love and passion for our Lord and Saviour that we decide to bury our life, to live for Christ. This message of being set apart comes up regularly throughout the New Testament, for example, in Galatians 2:20 or Romans 12:1-2. 

We see therefore that holiness is not a question of laws and rules to follow, but it is an act of love: to die to one’s former self in order to live from then on for Him. Doing things by necessity, is to enter into legalism and religion, which only leads to frustration and a form of death; whereas doing things because of love produces life in abundance, fulfillment and passion. Normally, it isn’t only because of a promise made before the authority that has married them that someone will remain faithful, loving etc; but it is by love for their partner that they do so. It is exactly the same for us today. We need to learn to cultivate our relationship with God because it is through love for Him that we live in holiness by avoiding everything that could sadden Him and separate us from Him.

We are called to become like Jesus. To be holy is to choose to be like Him and to live in this extraordinary partnership with the Holy Spirit to live just as Jesus lives, to do what He did and to be who He was. Because of this, to be holy is to also make disciples, heal the sick, perform miracles and share the Gospel because all of these are also part of being and doing like Jesus.

It is also about choosing to separate oneself from sin where we do our own will to live far from God by obeying our own egotistical desires. To be holy is to choose to no longer be the centre of the world so that Christ becomes the centre of our world and to do His will becomes our priority. When Jesus was on earth, He never stopped obeying His Father and doing what He saw Him doing (cf. John 5:19 and 30). To be holy consists of displaying this same obedience to God that Jesus had! Take the time to reflect upon what it means for your life and how you can live it…

MY DECISION:

➤ What I have understood for my own personal life. 

➤ What I am deciding to do in my life based upon what I have just learnt. 

➤ What you decide to do today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow!

FOOTER:

Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse.  All rights reserved.