Several years ago, we built our current home, from the ground up, ourselves. There were designs drawn, mistakes made, time taken and help given from others. Whether it’s a road, or a building project, construction takes time. There can be obstacles, mistakes, issues and delays, but the final result is worth the effort.

When we accept God’s gift of salvation, we begin the process of being in a current state of being under construction. In the Bible, it’s called sanctification. The actual definition of sanctification in Oxford Language is: the action or making or declaring something holy; the action or process of being freed from sin or purified. When we became believers, we began the process of being freed from sin, or sanctified.

It’s not that we weren’t freed from sin when we accepted Christ, but being human, our old nature will still want to sin. Sanctification means is that we are becoming more and more like Jesus, and that is a process. It’s not automatic.

1 Thessalonians 4:4 says that we should control our body “…in a way that is holy and honorable.” That is done by Hebrews 12:1, which says “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

The closer we draw to the Father, the more we want to be like Him, and the more sensitive we are to the sins we commit. That actually makes us sin less because we are more in tune with the Spirit’s working in our lives and to the sin around and in us. Thus, we become more and more freed from the bondage of sin and become more sanctified, or holy.

We may not feel holy, but the good news is that it’s not our job. We follow the Lord and He makes us holy and sanctifies us. “You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Lev. 20:8

We are still under construction. There will be obstacles in our way, we will make mistakes and/or bad decisions, and there will be delays when we are in seasons of waiting on the Lord, but the final result is worth the effort. We will be closer to the Father and more like Jesus.

–by Pam Rehbein