Wednesday’s 333 Devotional: “Growing Deep; Growing Strong”

The word, “sanctification” is one of those 10-cent theological terms that is often preached about, but rarely understood.

In general, to sanctify means to set a person or thing apart for a specific use as intended by its designer. When something or someone is sanctified, they are set apart for the purpose God intended. Therefore, a sanctuary is sanctified when it’s used as a place of gathering where people worship and learn more about God.

We are sanctified when we live our lives in accordance with God’s design and purpose.

In the Greek language the word means to be holy. Therefore, to be sanctified is to be made holy, that is separated from the world and its intentions and used by God to fulfill His kingdom purposes.

And so, the sanctification process begins when we enter through the narrow gate that is Jesus by becoming born again, which then works itself out on this walk of faith we take through life until we reach the gates of heaven.

It is this very process that has led me to the phrase, “Growing Deep, Growing Strong.”

Our spiritual growth doesn’t begin when the other growth factors begin. We begin our physical, mental, emotional, and social growth at the time of conception. But our spiritual growth begins at conversion. That is, at that point that we turn to Jesus Christ, making Him both Savior and Lord of our lives.

Our spiritual growth has nothing to do with our growing up; rather it has everything to do with our growing down.

And here’s the point, we can’t start growing up, until we first start growing down. God literally built this into nature and the growth curve of plant life. The height of a plant is directly proportionate to the downward growth of its roots.

This is how God explained it through the prophet Isaiah.

“And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.” (Isaiah 37:31)