If you are or have ever been part of a small group of Christian people (in my experience, usually women) who come together with a real
desire to learn more about God, then you are blessed, truly blessed. And if this group wants to learn from God and
from each other as they work through study materials, then bump that blessing
up a notch. With such a group as I have
described is where I spent a few hours recently tackling a challenging lesson
on sanctification. We worked our way
through specific questions and various additional comments on particularly hard
issues. I think we all had a little
better understanding of this Christian exhortation to be sanctified, set apart
unto God for His use and purposes when we went back “out into the world.” A world, incidentally, that we are to be out
in but not actually part of.
And there it is: another aspect of the Christian life that we
surely can’t pull off on our own. And
isn’t it great that we don’t have to.
The lesson that centered on sanctification also emphasized our position
“in Christ” and the role of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. That presence and its importance are at the
heart of Jesus’s illustration of the vine and its branches. In John’s gospel, Jesus explains: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We are to abide in Jesus and He in us—no
other dynamic will achieve sanctification or anything else truly rooted in the
love and power of God Himself.
Now here
is where it gets a little more interesting.
Just this morning when I had some quiet time here at home, somehow I
came to a curious pairing of what I would say are very basic yet important
aspects of this life of holiness, faith and love that we are called to
live. Yes, apart from God, we can do nothing but with God, nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). These are from the words spoken to Mary by
the angel who came to her and revealed God’s plan for her, a young virgin, to
bear God’s own son. Since Mary was
understandably overwhelmed by this message, the angel went on to explain that
the Holy Spirit would come upon her and God’s power would accomplish what to
our minds would seem impossible. Thus with
the declaration that with God’s own presence and power at work in her and upon
her, this miraculous conception could really happen.
Mathew
records another encounter that reveals God’s great ability when the disciples
are observing the difficulties of leaving worldly possessions behind to follow
God. Jesus talks about how hard it is
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, and they asked, “Who then can be
saved?” (Mat. 19:23-26). Jesus's
explanation is simple and rather blunt:
“With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Again, the wonder-working power of God can
only be accessed by His living presence in us and our great dependence and
awareness of the Holy Spirit who still speaks in that “still, small voice”
Ezekiel heard after all the roaring wind, earthquake, and fire that preceded it
(1 Kings 19:11-13).
In
Psalm 46:10, God gives a simple and clear directive: “Be still and know that I am God.” That has been an important and strong
suggestion that God has brought me back to over and over again. A more modern day version might be, “Ok, just
simmer down. Stop all the worry, the
what ifs, the fears and frustrations—not unjustified feelings. Now listen, carefully and diligently, to what
I have to say about it all.” Obviously,
God can get His points across far more eloquently and simply than I can.
God’s
loving kindness is new every morning, new and greatly needed. I thank Him for the opportunities to
experience His grace and grow in our understanding of His counsel both in those
times when we do come apart from the world to listen and when we come together
with other seekers to collectively listen to God and to one another. He is the God who calls us to be sanctified,
to realize that on our own, we can do nothing.
Isn’t it wonderful news that we are not left with just this
nothing. We are clearly directed to
believe that with God, there is another nothing, one which knows no limitation
to the possibilities God can accomplish when He works in us as we abide in Him. Indeed, with God ,nothing will be impossible.
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