Set-Apart for His Glory

Have you thought about the fact lately that God has called us to be “holy” and to be “wholly like Him”??

To be honest, most of us would not use the adjective, “holy” to describe ourselves, let alone our life, or our heart. That description seems to fit God alone. 

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11)

But God seems to believe that this should fit “us” too, because it’s quite plain in Scripture that we are to be “holy” like Him! 

“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.” (Lev. 20:7) 

But what does it mean to be “holy”? Isn’t this quite impossible for us today?

We wont go into the full study of this here (for it’s much broader than I could begin to write in a book, let alone on a blog), but if you look up the word “holy” from Lev. 20:7 in the Hebrew, it means not only to be the “Holy One,” as referring to God, but it means to be “sacred, to be separate, to be set-apart.” In the New Testament, it means to be "mature" or "grown up" in Him!

“Holiness is not rapture: it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love.”[i]

In God’s call for us to be “holy,” it simply starts with His call to set-apart our heart for Him alone just like we set-apart our heart for the one we marry. And as we set-apart our heart for Him alone, as we surrender our lives to His plans, He promises to dwell within us and listen to us when we call.

"But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him." Ps. 4:3

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[i] Acts of the Apostles, p. 51