… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love.
— Ephesians 1:4
I know a friend who just went through major surgery and then, after he was home and thought all was well, a massive infection was found. The doctors had to go back in and cleanse that out. That is like sanctification. Sanctification deals with corruption. A beautiful apple, when cut in half, reveals one dark spot. It is obviously rotten, and the spot must be cut out. God is purifying us in this life through sanctification.
The holiness of God is imputed to us by faith as we trust in Him, and His holiness is infused into us gradually in sanctification, as we become more and more pure. We need to pray that the impartation of the holiness of Christ might be ours. We need to pray that God would make us holy people. You can be sure that as you become holier, you will become happier in your life. We will never be completely holy before we reach heaven, but the furthest we can come is the longing to be more holy. The strange fact is that the more holy we are, the less we will be concerned with our own holiness and more concerned with the welfare of others.
Question to ponder:
How is it that the more focused we are on others, the happier we find ourselves?