I was 11 years old when I became a Christian. While I have not always walked the path He wanted for me, God has been a significant part of my life for the past 35 years. You would think that after all this time I would have a firm grasp on how my relationship with God works, but that is not the case. There are many things about God and His grace that continue to elude me. This is not a surprise, since He tells us that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB). I will never be able to think the way God does or move in the ways that He moves, which honestly in my mind is a good thing! But still, my goal is to draw ever closer to Him, which means often I need to work a little harder to try and understand things that may seem beyond my reach. One of those things that I struggled to understand for a long time is sanctification and what it means to be sanctified.
It is easy to look at sanctified and sanctification and assume that they mean the same thing because they are so similar, but they each have their own distinct meaning. First, let us look at the word sanctified. When something or someone is sanctified, it means that they are set apart for a specific purpose or made holy. When you accept that Jesus died and was resurrected to cover your sins, you are sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11). It happens in a moment and changes the way we see ourselves and how we live our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In contrast, sanctification is the process of making a thing or person holy. It describes the process of God working in us to make us more holy and more like Him. We are sanctified in a moment, but we spend the rest of our lives going through a process of sanctification. I would like to share two examples of what this has looked like at points in my life.
Back in 2007, I decided that I wanted to complete a half marathon. I have never been adept at running, so I joined a team of walkers to prepare for the event. The moment I declared my intention to race and joined a team, my body and portions of my schedule were set apart for the specific purpose of finishing the race. Then I began the months-long process of training and preparation before the race to become a half marathon finisher.
During my high school years, one of my favorite extracurricular activities was theatre. My sophomore year my school produced the show Li’l Abner, and during auditions, I was set aside by the casting director to play the role of Mammy Yokum. Once all the parts were assigned and the cast list was announced, I began the process of attending rehearsals and learning my lines for the purpose of being Mammy Yokum on opening night.
While sanctification and being sanctified are not the same thing, they both point to the same thing: following God’s good and perfect will for your life. Philippians 1:6 tells us that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (NIV). Whatever circumstances or trials you may face today or in the future, know that God has set you aside for His specific purpose, and He will always be working on making you more holy.