Be Holy as I Am Holy

This morning I had a vivid dream. It didn’t last very long, but definitely made an impact.

In the dream I walked into a tiny public restroom, like you would see in an older gas station. There were two toilets, side-by-side, with no wall between them. The bathroom itself was filthy. Really, really filthy. And one of the toilets was nasty, inside and out. So gross.

The other one, though, was pristine. Like, shiny clean. Sparkling clean. Just sitting there in the middle of the muck and the mire, shining and shimmering and encouraging people to come near.

That’s it. That’s the whole dream. Except, while I was still asleep, God unpacked it for me.

He has placed us, His church, His bride, in a world that’s broken and filthy. We’re surrounded on every side by actions, ideologies, etc. that are anything but pure. And it’s up to up as individual believers to respond accordingly to the filth. We’re called to be in the world but not of the world. We’re called to remain clean. Pure. Sanctified.

Whether we realize it or not, the more we look and smell like the world, the less effective we are. If we compromise who we’re meant to be people might be drawn to us (because we look and smell like them) but will being with us affect lasting change in their hearts?

I’m not saying that purity is easily obtained. It’s hard to stay pure when everything around us is a hot mess, but that’s what God requires of us. He calls us to “be holy, for I am holy.”

After I woke up and unpacked all of this, the Lord led me to John 17. This is the chapter where Jesus prayed for His disciples. I noted several key things I’d never picked up on before.

Here are the phrases that Jesus spoke to the Father about us:

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” Jesus loves the whole world, of course, but in this vital moment He chose to specifically pray for believers, the ones who had accepted His message. That’s us. He was praying for us.

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world.” He was about to be with the Father but knew we would have to remain on earth a while longer. And He knew it would be rough going.

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” We can expect to feel ostracized by the world. It hated Him and has the same opinion of us. (More proof that we’re supposed to be set apart from the world, to live by the word.)

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” We’re here for the long haul. God is not miraculously lifting us out of the muck and mire. We’re dwelling in the dirty bathroom for however long we’re meant to be here. But Jesus specifically prayed for our protection from the evil one.

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” We’re meant to look and smell different, just as He was different. In other words, we need to aspire to be more like Him. I know it’s tempting to want to fit in, to bend to culture to be more relevant. But dirtying ourselves won’t make us more effective. Jesus certainly never did that.

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” The truth will set us free! And part of freedom is walking in holiness. But it’s a process, one that requires being sanctified, (set apart for a holy purpose).

We don’t like the word sanctification. For many of us, it smacks of good works. But it’s just the opposite! For the believer, sanctification (the process of getting cleaned up and set apart) isn’t something WE do; it’s something HE does in us when we submit ourselves to Him. It’s not a matter of working hard to be pure; it’s a matter of trusting that He already did the work on the cross. We just have to allow Him access to our hearts so that sanctification can take place. And we have to be willing to be changed from the inside-out.

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” We have an Esther anointing, friends! We were put on this planet for such a time as this. Not to fit in, but to draw people to Him. To impact people, just as Esther did. We’re on a holy mission from God specific to this generation. What an honor and privilege, but what an obligation!

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Wow! We don’t know the ones we’ll lead to the Lord just yet, but Jesus does. And He’s already praying for them, too. He sees into the future, to the ones who will be won by our testimony, if we don’t give up. I don’t know about you but that really raises the level of expectation of what He’s going to do.

“For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” If we’re trying to look like the world in order to win the world, we’ve lost sight of the truth. Jesus clearly meant for us to be set apart. Believe it or not, the world is actually drawn to purity. The broken are looking to be made whole. The lost desire (in their heart of hearts) to be found. When we, His disciples, walk so closely to Christ that they see wholeness as a real possibility, we bring them hope.

So, shine bright, church. Spend quality time with Him so that He can purity your heart (hard as that might be) that you might accomplish all He’s placed you here to do.