What is Sacred

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

John 17:15-17: [Jesus is saying, praying to the Father,] "I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart in the truth; Your Word is truth. 

What is sacred? Is a building sacred? We call the room where we worship and praise and hear from God "a Sanctuary." It is a "Holy Space." Is a person sacred? Is there something about people that makes them different? No and yes.

One person, in their own rights, is not any different from any other person. We all are born. We all live. We all die. We are ALL SINNERS. We all sin and fall short of what God expects and commands. It doesn't matter what socio-economic or ethnic backgrounds from which we come. We are all sinners. We are all in need of a savior. 

And when we believe in God and what He did, we are set apart from everyone else. We are different. We are sacred. We are holy. Why is that?

It's because of Jesus and what He did. Jesus walked the perfect life of obedience. Only He did that because He is 100 percent man AND 100 percent GOD! And God sacrificed Himself in order to save His creation from sin and death with grace and life. When we put our faith, trust, and very existence into the hands of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are made holy. We are set apart. We are sacred, all because of JESUS and what HE DID on our behalf. He loves us that much.

This means that we will be under more scrutiny. We are picked on, picked out, and picked at. We are under the microscope. Is it fair? No. Is it reality. Yes. And Jesus' prayer is for God the Father to send God the Holy Spirit to keep us safe. And safe means to stay the course of "fear, love, and trust in God above all things." God, keep us on the path of faith in the face of persecution and fear, amen!