For the New Year, I believe I have a Word of Encouragement for you. Over the next few weeks, we will look at 2 Cor 6:16-18
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Clearly, we are commanded to be separate, not isolated. God believes in separation. Not from Him, but for clarity.
We are living in a world where clarity about life, faith, family, sexuality, and roles are diminishing fast. This is the enemy’s tactics, muddy the water and confuse the people.
At PSL this week I challenged the Alumni Racers about living missionally. Jesus was our example, The Holy Spirit is our empowerment, we are the method or instrument God uses and the World changes because we disciple people. When we disciple people and we start looking or acting like them, we have not discipled, we were discipled by them. The Church was never destined to look like the world. We are in the world but we are different from the world.
What makes us different? The ability to separate things and bring clarity instead of confusion.
How do you distinguish between Light and Dark, Good or Bad, Life or Death, Right or Wrong?
There is only one way. You must separate the two. It is never both.
God made it clear from the beginning of the creation that separation will be evident – Gen 1. He spoke and light came forth and separated light and darkness. God separated the water and the land, He separated day and night. He separated Animal life from Human Life. There is a Spiritual Principle I see working from the beginning of creation: The Law of Distinction.
Why did God distinguish and separated things in creation? Without separation, it is hard or impossible to distinguish. By distinguishing something, you have the ability to call something what it actually is. The distinction gives definition and definition brings clarity.
Do you remember as a child how you use to color pictures in a coloring book? There were pictures with lines and you get to color and stay within the lines. Those lines were to define and separate the different parts of the picture. We have colored over the lines on too many issues and that has spoiled the beauty of what we were entrusted with. Little kids struggle to stay within the lines. Our immaturity has not helped us. As we grow in Christ we learn why the lines were there in the first place.
This New Year my prayer is that your life will be marked with separation. God wants to be a Father, but as a Father He expects us to represent him well. Next week we will continue looking at the importance of being separated unto God.
