Sanctify - Clean Dishes

Index

Symbol: Clean dishes & glassware

Lesson: Appreciating the honor of our being invited to know God & Christ

Illustration: Consider the act of washing dishes and drinking glasses. Under regular activity you might be satisfied that you got the items cleaned, dried, and put back on the shelf. But now what happens when someone special comes to visit. Even though the daily plates are clean, most people I know take out their best china and glassware. Even though the water-stained daily glasses are indeed clean and usable, for most hosts I know, using those would be an embarrassment. And even though the china and glassware is clean, I’ve seen my wife wash them again even though they had been safely stored away. And she is not satisfied that they are clean and dry, she makes sure that there is no water stain, no crack, no blemish whatsoever.

That is the sense of the Greek words “sanctify” and “sanctification.” God is cleansing us not to be stuck on some shelf (sit in a church pew once a week), but to proudly display us as his finest dinnerware. We are being put to use to carry a specially prepared meal.

Notes: The word “sanctification” is/was a difficult one for me to wrap my mind around. While understanding Greek grammar has its benefits, what is more important is that we can extrapolate the impact of what is being said and apply it to our relationship with Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ. 

(This post as a result of reflecting on 1 Peter 1:2)

Index

Driving Laws

Index

Symbol: Driving rules

Lesson: Being narrow-minded only hurts you.

Illustration: So you are talking with a peace officer, lamenting that there are so many driving rules to remember. The officer, trying to be kind and put it into perspective, responds: “Look, just obey the traffic signs and signals and you are pretty much obeying safe driving rules, which is the intent of the motor vehicle code.”

But is that really all there is? For example, there are no signs saying “don’t drive on the sidewalk.” However any rational person should already know that is not safe. But say the next day you are at an intersection and it seems to be gridlocked. So you think to yourself, “Hey, I only need to make a right turn and there are no pedestrians around, I’ll just quickly go around the corner on the sidewalk—after all, there are no signs saying I can’t.” So you cautiously proceed on the sidewalk around the corner. Guess who’s there? Yep, a peace officer. He pulls you over and you sigh a breath of relief. Why? Well, it’s the same officer you spoke to yesterday. He’ll understand. You greet the officer with a big smile. He’s not smiling. When he starts to write up the ticket, you protest, “But officer, there were no signs saying I couldn’t do that. Remember what you told me yesterday?” The officer laughs and and says, “Haven't you ever heard of common sense?”

Notes: In Romans 13:8, Paul said, “Do not owe anything to anyone except to love one another; for whoever loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.” There are some people that become so focused on one specific passage, they want to use that as an excuse to completely dismiss not only the rest of the scriptures, but even common sense. With regards scriptures, even Jesus himself expanded what the intent of “The Law” (Mosaic) was when he said at Matthew 22:36-40 “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.” John, one of the apostles that actually walked with Jesus, said “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and carry out his commandments.  For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:2,3) Regarding common sense, anyone inclined to base their whole belief on one, two, or even a small handful of scriptures chosen to fit their preference needs to realize that God is not fooled. The only one such people are fooling are themselves.

Index