As a young adult I was idealistic. I naively believed I was doing just fine as a Christian. I was saved from Hell, free from the grip of sin, and I had Jesus. I knew God loved me and I loved Him. That’s all I needed. Life was good. Cue the record scratch…..
My perfect world started to fray. I was being confronted with thoughts about my past.
God showed me a house, much like this adorable tin house. Perfect, with flower boxes and charming green shutters. Beautiful on the outside. He took me on a tour inside the pretty little house. It looked pristine as we walked through each room. But something caught my eye. The hall closet was bulging. I opened the door and a whole bunch of stuff spilled out. Dusty boxes and old coats fell to the floor.
God, what is all of this?
It’s all the stuff we are going to clear out and get rid of. It’s the old habits and patterns that you have kept. They need to go.
Wait a minute Lord. I am doing just fine. I’ve got Jesus and that’s all I need. Let’s put all of this back. We can deal with it another time.
God opened the boxes and gently placed items on the floor. They weren’t pretty all lined up. I saw anger, hurt, and fear.
Here’s the reality, God loves us too much to let us stay as we are. Getting saved is only the beginning. Praise God for saving us from death, and sin, and Hell. Salvation is one hundred percent worth daily praises to Jesus and our Heavenly Father.
After we are saved, a whole new journey begins with Jesus Christ.
God’s purpose is to make us like Jesus.
The fancy Christian word for this journey is sanctification. It sounds so intimidating. All it means is being set apart for God’s purposes. Sanctification comes from the Greek word hagiasmos, meaning holiness or separation.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:16-17, NIV
Jesus prayed those words. Once we are in Christ, we are separated from the world just like Him. Jesus was without sin, and we are not. Though we are saved from sin because of Jesus’ precious blood, we can still sin. The difference now is we do not want to sin, and we have conviction of our sin. We are on a holiness journey in this sanctification process.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Romans 8:29, NASB
God’s plan from the beginning was to conform us into the image of His son, Jesus. Our example of how to live and how to be in this world is Jesus. He was and is perfect. Though we will never arrive at perfection on this side of eternity, God will not allow us to stay as we were before we met Christ. Holiness is the goal through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB
The Holy Spirit is driving us on God’s path to holiness. The exciting part is we get a little more freedom each time we go through those closets hidden with our bad habits. The attic might be filled to the brim with pain and hurt, but God will sit with you as each box is opened, and clear things out to make you and I more and more like Christ.
Don’t you want to be like Jesus? There is no one like Him. Jesus is the Savior to the world. And God loves us so much that He wants us to be more like His precious Son. And that is good news! Think of the best person you know. They are flawed, and sinful, and will let you down. Jesus is perfect, loving, and will never let you down. God is making each Believer into the image of Jesus. That’s incredible.
So yes, let’s surrender to this whole sanctification process. It is not easy to deal with our stuff, and issues, sin, and all of our ugliness. But God, who is merciful and loving will not let us stay like that. We are set apart for God’s purposes. Amen
Is there a closet that needs cleaned out in your life? Maybe you have a garage full of pain and heartache that you have refused to open up to the Father. Today, make a choice to surrender it all to Him. God will lovingly help you clean out those dark spaces.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20, NIV
Love you all,
Meghan
If you need prayer leave your request on my contact page.
P.S. The perfect tin dollhouse was my mother-in-law’s when she was a little girl. I now have it along with all the tiny furniture and people. I may have set it up a time or two.
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Meghan E White 