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             Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Sanctify (v) set apart as or declare holy

When you think of the word sanctify and the definition provided above, you are likely to think in terms of being set apart from that which is not holy. To be holy, we need to get away from what is not holy. There’s probably some process: a weaker or stronger form of canonization, or something. We seem to think we are sanctified when we become completely detached from the world, wanting nothing physical. It’s like my irrational idea that nobleness requires being separate from dirt or struggle. We may know that it’s not really that way, but there’s part of us that holds on to that notion. It’s not really sanctification until or unless we’re dead to the world, and we want nothing more than to spend the day gazing toward heaven and playing the harp.

And in a sense, it is true. Sanctification is the process by which we are separated from the world, but it’s like the conquest of the Promised Land by Joshua and the Israelites. It didn’t happen overnight because the Israelites weren’t able to care for all the land at first. I’ve often joked that people who say they’d like to spend some time in my head would be disappointed at everything but the echoes. We might not like what is in our minds, but some of what is there is wisdom and light, and to empty it of those would render it far more vulnerable to folly and darkness.

          But the first key found in the first passage is that we are sanctified in the truth, not sanctified from the falsehood. We don’t have to get away. Right here, and right now, in our present circumstances, we can be sanctified in truth.

The reason these passages were chosen for today is that truth, sanctification, and freedom are three more things for which we should feel grateful. They are slower and more painful than we wish them to be, but the pain is only there for as long as we struggle against them. It’s like battering yourself against a vault door. The pain goes away when someone shows up, unlocks it, and opens it. Even while I struggle against truth that I don’t like; I am thankful for it because it can be mine at any time.

Father, keep us from the lie that sanctification, freedom, and truth are far away. Thank  You for them, and teach us how to effectively use them in our lives.

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