This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
In recent years there has been a great deal of talk about isolation. From COVID restrictions, to social media concerns, people have been at risk for greater feelings of isolation. But isolation or being set apart isn’t always a bad thing.
God calls his children to be set apart from the culture of their times. That’s not to say we should all go off to a thousand-acre tract of land and create our own commune. Or even join a nunnery or monastery. What it does mean is that the people living in the culture around us should be able to see that we are different from them because we are followers of God.
So how do we do that?
In the Old Testament, God told Abraham to circumcise himself and his male relatives to show that they were set apart or different from the tribes around them. That they were followers of Yahweh. This practice continued as Hebrews became Israelites. When Moses rose to leadership, the Ten Commandments and other laws for both men and women were given out. These again distinguished the Israelites as set apart from the other nations.
But that was the Old Testament. As followers of Jesus, we live under a different covenant. A covenant of grace not law. So do we still need to be seen as set apart? I believe it is just as important for believers today as it was back in biblical times. In John chapter 17, Jesus himself prayed to God that his disciples would be “in the world and not of it,” just as Jesus was. And how did he ask God to make that happen? Through sanctification, which is a process of being set apart. Think of it as a sort of spiritual circumcision. A cutting away of the old man or woman, the fleshly desires and sins, to reveal the new, and changed man or woman.
After we’ve chosen to follow Jesus, our appetites for things of the world often change. Our thoughts and speech can change. The movies and TV shows we used to love may not be as entertaining or now might make us cringe. Even our friendships may be different. We might lose some friends and gain others. And when we see ourselves in the mirror, there will a new light in our eyes.
But that’s new believers, you might say. What about someone who has believed their entire life? How can they know they’re set apart? Think about your daily life. What do you do or prioritize that someone who is not a believer doesn’t? Do you spend time with God in daily devotions? Have ongoing conversations with him throughout your day? Set aside evenings for Bible studies with friends when you could be doing anything else? And how do you treat people? Do you pray for strangers you meet? Do you earnestly desire the good for those around you? That they would come to know Jesus when the time is right and receive the ultimate gift of everlasting life?
These, my friend, make you set apart from the world and culture around us. No commune or nunnery needed.
This is Felicia Ferguson. Thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.
