Separate

COMMENTS

God has recently been speaking to me, as evidenced by some of my posts, about my sin and His mighty work of salvation and purification.  He continued that theme this morning.

NOTES

I have a tendency to think of myself as okay, even good.  That’s easy to do when I get self-righteous and make the wrong comparisons.  That’s probably why He has pointed me so often lately to my sin, but He has never left me in that pit.  He always reminds me of His redeeming work.  He calls me to Himself and to righteousness.  One aspect of my morning prayer today was that He will work in me to purify me and make me more like Him.  He took me to 2 Corinthians 6:14b-7:1:

“For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?  What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God.  As God has said:  ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.  Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

When I’m not making one of my common self-righteous comparisons, I compare myself to Paul, desiring to reach his level of commitment to Jesus.  But that, too, is a wrong comparison.  Paul points me not to himself but to Jesus Christ.  Jesus is my standard.  Being like Him is my goal.

So, this morning, He issued me a challenge:  “Is your heart willing?  Do you really want to be like Me?”  If my answer is “yes”, He tells me in this passage what I’m to do. I’m to separate myself from this fallen world.  I’m not to be contaminated by the evil that rules here.  I have a choice.  It’s my choice.  I make the decision--choose to be influenced by the world or choose those things that lead to purity and righteousness.  If I am, indeed, “the temple of the living God” as He says here, my choices should reflect that.  I will make the right choices “out of reverence for God.” 

And, as always, He gives me love and encouragement in the form of a promise:

“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my…daughter.”

(2 Corinthians 6:18)

Lord, help me to remember that as I make choices today—and tomorrow—and always.