In this section of Jesus’ prayer, He prayed for His disciples. He prayed that they would be “sanctified by the truth.” Sanctification is the process of making something sacred. In the Old Testament something would be sanctified by separating it for holy uses only. Those things that were sacred were set apart from normal use in the world. We are sanctified by the Truth, a genuine understanding of reality that is given to us by God. Jesus said: “Your word is truth.” That means scripture and God’s Word incarnate in Christ. Together, with the Holy Spirit, they help us to see the world as it really is and to put our trust in God. That sanctifies us. But Jesus also says that His disciples are not taken out of the world, despite the fact that they are sanctified. Christians are in the world but not of the world.
What does it mean to you to be in the world but not of the world? Sanctification is the key here. We are in the world. We interact with the world constantly. We live and function in the world. But we are not of the world, because we have been sanctified. Through the process of sanctification, the Lord takes the world out of us.
Who do you know who needs to be sanctified by the Truth, who needs the eternal life that only comes from Christ? Commit to reaching out to that person with this life-giving Truth.