maandag 7 april 2014

Part 9. Sanctification

Sanctification is the spiritual growth process whereby someone is changed by Christ from glory-to-glory. It is the result of the inner transformative working of the Holy Spirit who is ever present in the life of the true believers as an eternal source of love. This love is fed by springs of living water from the heart of God in which there is an ocean of love. In as much as God accepts every sinner who submits to His Lordship and turns to Him for salvation exactly as they are (just as the prodigal son who returned to the Father in rags) it is not the intention of the Father for His children to remain in spiritual rags.  He has predestined them, meaning that He has set a destination for them: Being innocent, holy and Christ-like (Ephesians 1:3-6). In a way God progressively restores in us the innocence which we as humanity lost in Eden when sin entered creation. This process, however, is not an automatic process to which we passively submit. No, God is humble and gentle and does never impose on us. Neither is it attained by strenuous adherence to religious rules, laws and requirements drawn up by other humans. God simply invites us to live in His love for ourselves and other human beings and to rely on Him to enable us. He has made the transforming power of His love for us and all humanity available in our hearts. It has been poured out through the Holy Spirit and readily available for us if we are truly His children by putting our faith in Christ (Romans 5:1-11). However, just as with the salvation in Christ which God has made available to all humanity, it is imparted only if we accept it by faith and surrender ourselves to it. God never imposes salvation, nor does He impose sanctification, He simply invites us through His word. This means we must soak in His word, particularly the teachings of Christ. Next it is up to us to choose to either harden our hearts or to surrender to the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit who points us at Christ and His invitation to follow in our inner being. In John 15 Jesus repeatedly calls us to abide in Him, to abide in His love and tells us that this is the only way we can bear the fruit of love, which is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). He invites, He does not force, but if we take time regularly to sit at His feet and learn from Him and soak up His love for us and all humanity, then we will bear fruit. It is as the story of Martha and Mary. Both were in the presence of Christ, but while Martha was very busy in accordance with the social demands of her society, but Mary sat at the feet of Jesus in order to learn from Him. Martha was still ''in control'', she decided what needed to be done, but Mary surrendered her control and submitted in love to Christ in order to learn from Him. Let us beware of allowing the demands of this world to press us in its mold and rather allow Christ to transform us into His image. The world demands, society demands, people demands, our own flesh demands....but Christ gently invites us: Abide in me....Come and drink al who are thirsty.....Learn from me for I am gentle and humble.

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