Many people try to tell you that when you take that major step and become a born again believer in Christ, your life becomes all sunshine and roses. Many people try to tell you that you will be happier and your problems will magically disappear. Well as much as I hate to say it, that couldn't be further from the truth!
While it is true that being saved and putting your faith in Christ absolutely changes your life and makes it a lot easier to deal with the storms that life brings, many times it also causes a few more storms to pop up. For example, one of the toughest things to deal with as a Christian is what the bible calls being sanctified.
To explain that term, i want to introduce you to a man named Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a Jew who lived among a very rebellious and perverse people. The Jews of that day had completely turned their back on God and His commands. One of those commands was to keep away from the false gods that the surrounding nations worshiped. This was one of the first commands that was broken!
In the midst of this unrighteous generation was Jeremiah. Jeremiah loved God and did his best to follow His commands. God sees this and, being a loving God, wants to warn His people (the Jews) about the hardships that are coming unless they change their ways. To this end, God appears to Jeremiah and lays this priceless revelation on him:
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
That phrase "set you apart" is synonymous with "sanctified". To be sanctified by God is to be set apart from the rest of the world and given a purpose. Furthermore, as born-again Christians, we are set apart just as Jeremiah was. And that is what causes a problem for many believers. Jesus said:
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
We have been chosen out of the world. We have been cleansed of our sin and made to be a new creation set apart for God Himself. And yet, we are as Jeremiah was. We live in the midst of the unrighteous. We live in a society that commands us to do those things that God has forbidden, and forbids us to do those things that God has commanded. Many Christians are content to ride the fence. To do just enough to, in their minds, please both God and mankind. Many of the Jews in Jeremiah's day did the same. They said the religious words and went through the righteous motions, but their hearts were with the gods of other nations. But God requires more.
Jesus said it best when He said "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." In the same way, no man or woman can serve both God and this world. God calls His servants to be sanctified, set apart for His purposes. And just as was the case with Jeremiah, it is a life that can be rather lonely at times, but the rewards far outweigh the cost. Someone wise once said "The surest way to happiness is to become lost in a cause greater than yourself". And there is no greater cause than what God has planned for you. He wants you to be His son or daughter. He wants you to embrace Him as your Father. Most of all, He wants you! He wants your heart, your mind, your body! God wants from you nothing less than your very life given to Him out of a grateful heart! And what a small price to pay for a purpose on this earth and eternal life in the world to come!
