Value the Gift

The Holy One calls me into consciousness today. Sanctification is a looooong process. So much to take in and so much to get rid of. I sense that today, He and I are going "deep" and I wonder what will be unearthed today.

Sanctification is a word that many like myself can barely wrap my brain around. To be "sanctified" is to be made "Holy". Other words translate: "consecrate", but to "make Holy" seems to be the easiest definition to grasp.

Once we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and commit our lives to following Him, that loooong process of "Sanctification" begins. The Holy Spirit sets up shop in our hearts and has every "right" to get rid of things that no longer belong there.

In the beginning the huge vestiges of life B.C. (Before Christ) are eliminated mostly because they are so visible and identify us with that old life. With the help of the Holy One, who indwells every Believer, we can ditch the "drinking, immorality and running with the world" that compromises our new life and testimony.

The sanctification process is looooong. Did I say that before? In fact, it is life-on-earth long. It is a never ending process here. It is sometimes delightful as we get rid of sinful behavior patterns, other times quite painful as we are required to get rid of pleasant fleshly pursuits, but like a bulldozer clearing a field of rubble, it just keeps going, like it or not.

The Holy Spirit calls me today to talk about the value of our Salvation. In this long process of Sanctification, the Holy One speaks to the problem of apathy. Apathy can de-value the gift. He takes me to the account of Esau in Gen 25:27-34.

Here was a man who had a "birthright". He was the oldest of twins born to Isaac & Rebekah. Back in the day, the birthright was a powerful blessing that governed the inheritance of the father to child. It was given to the firstborn son, because that child symbolized the father's strength and vitality.

As the account unfolds, Esau came into his brother's tent, quite famished. By his assessment he said, "I am about to die", and in exchange for a bowl of lentil soup that Jacob, his brother had been preparing, Esau sold his birthright.

The Holy Spirit pointed out to me that at that moment in his life, the birthright was not as important as his next meal. Easu was a man who failed to value his great blessing and in the course of his daily existence, in view of his immediate "needs", saw no benefit and therefore was willing to sell his birthright.

The Spirit said, "There is a deep problem brewing if you fail to value your salvation." If we fail to live in the place of gratitude for all that the blessing will mean to us one day, we might be tempted to "sell-out".

The picture in my head, is one of a young woman, betrothed to the most wonderful man she has ever met, enduring a separation while he is away on business. At first she is so excited and in awe of his love and her great fortune, but as his absence drags on, her focused attention & enthusiasm dwindles and she wonders if it was just a figment of her imagination. She loses the image of his face and the warmth of his arms wrapped around her and the picture of her future as his wife, begins to fade.

Others compete for her attention. At first she refuses but then. bit by bit, she gives into their invitations to "join them and have a little fun". "He's away, and if he even exists, he will never know. He won't care that you just wanted to have a little fun while you are waiting for him..after all, nothing changes your love for him if you truly love him." Excuses abound, but she has "allowed" her love to grow cold.

To be honest, I do not know if our salvation can be lost, our "birthright" blessing and inheritance sold, our engagement called off, but I do know that we are in a process of being made Holy and it is imperative that we remember why.

We are being sanctified and made Holy for the sake of the One to whom we belong and have given our pledge of loyalty. We are to be the glorious bride, loyal to our Beloved Groom to the very end of our earthly existence amid all the temptations to do and be otherwise.

In the dark days we are facing, may we value our salvation more not less. May we remember and remind each other of our King and His Kingdom to come. May we remember the days of our first love and what the promises of eternity will mean some day.

The truth of the matter is that our salvation is the greatest blessing of our lives here on earth as well. In access to the Throne of all power and authority, through the Blood of our Savior Christ Jesus, we, as the "saved", have privileges here that are incomparable to anything in the world.

However, if we are prone to forgetfulness, or distracted by our flesh attraction to the things of the world, we may become tempted to exchange our endless "banquet table" of blessings for a simple bowl of soup, not even realizing our great loss.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?