Set Apart to Serve HimSample

Day 1 – Holiness is a state of life; a life set apart for God. 

Holiness isn't having a halo and walking fifty centimetres above the ground, but it's a state of life; a life set apart for God.

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: 

➤  In this text in John 17, why does Jesus pray to His Father? 

➤  What is Jesus’ first request in His prayer? And why do you think it is?

CONTENT:

When we talk about being holy many people don’t have a good idea of what holiness is, many people think it is related to a monastic lifestyle. This concept comes from the canonisation system of the traditional Church which gives us an image of perfect saints with halos, who seem to be floating outside of reality and living a practically perfect life. This is a false image of holiness. For other people, holiness stirs up negative thoughts, of austerity, sadness, frustration and constraint. This isn’t so. Holiness is something marvellous, joyful and incredibly fulfilling. And in reality, holiness isn’t linked to our actions but our identity.

In this text in John 17, just a few hours before His crucifixion, Jesus prays a specific prayer for His disciples, and for us too, that we might be holy. This reveals the idea that Jesus had of holiness and of its necessity for us all. First of all, Jesus prays concerning our relation with the world. He doesn’t ask the Father to withdraw us from the world, but to protect us against evil. This goes against what many Christians secretly hope, that God will take them out of this world so they can be alone in His presence. Certain Christians will even try to do whatever they can to be out of the world, yet it isn’t God’s will. He wants to send us into the world. So, it isn’t up to us to leave the world, but the world to leave us! It isn’t by refusing to confront sin’s traps and completely isolating ourselves that we become resistant to sin. Holiness is not living in a bubble. In fact it is making a difference in the world because of His presence in us.

Being holy is to choose to respond to God’s call and to our identity as disciples by setting our lives apart to serve Him in the world, where He has placed us, to be His light and bring His salvation. If God had planned that we leave the world, He would have simply planned to take us with Him as soon as we had met Him or after our baptism. But this isn’t the case because He has chosen to send us into the world to be ambassadors of His kingdom and to write His story. So let us stop wanting to completely leave the world, let’s not try to do it by attempting to create structures completely sanitised from all worldly influence. Instead, let us take advantage of being able to be in the world to spread the light and life of Christ, because it is a unique chance that we will no longer have in eternity…

God wants us to live so that we can represent Him in the world. And it is up to us to decide to set our life apart to serve Him. To set oneself apart is to choose to get rid of the world from our lives so that the fullness of Christ’s nature and His kingdom fill us. This comes and directly touches the motivation of our lives, that is, do we live for ourselves with the aim of satisfying our own desires or do we live for Christ and for His kingdom? It is about giving up the idea that our life is the centre of the world, so that Jesus becomes and is our only reason for existing. Thus, we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him – Christ – who lives in us, which allows us to be in the world without being of the world.

Let us adopt this positive and simple vision of holiness, that is a life set apart to serve Him, and let’s decide to be involved in this unique and exceptional journey. Before continuing your day, take a moment to set your life apart for God, choose to free yourself from everything that is holding you back from serving Him, simply commit yourself to Him, you can pray these words inspired by Hebrews 12:1-2; “I reject every burden and sin that surrounds me so easily and I persevere in the task ahead of me, by keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author of my faith and who brings me to perfection.” And make this prayer a daily habit…

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.