Living Set Apart; When Love Becomes Your Why

After I gave my life to Jesus, I believed that following God was all about strict rules,
Do this, and God is happy.

Don’t do that or His anger will burn against me

I thought that every time I obeyed the Bible, God would be pleased with me.

But the moment I failed, His anger would fall on me, and I’d be headed straight for Hell. That was the version of God I knew, one that looked a lot like my earthly parents.

When I obeyed them, they rewarded me with nice clothes and sweet treats. But when I disobeyed, I got scolded or punished.

In my ignorance, I limited God. I didn’t know I was projecting my human experience onto the Creator of the universe.

One day, I decided on my own to read the entire Bible In one year. As I read, I began to see something different. I saw a God who judged rebellion and disobedience with terrifying justice but I also saw Jesus. So gentle. So humble. So full of love.

It left me wondering: How can this holy, fearsome God be the same as this tender, loving Jesus?

I don’t know how to fully explain what happened, but something clicked. I came to understand that after the fall of man, there was no one in heaven or on earth worthy enough to bring us back to God except Jesus. He didn’t come out of obligation, but out of love. And when He died, it was the death I was meant to die for all my sins, by nature and by choice that He took upon himself. He gave me life instead.

At what cost? Just love. Pure, undeserved, mind-blowing love.

How could I not love this Man, Jesus who looked at me and said, “You deserve to live, so I will die in your place.”

Wow. Just… wow.

To this day, I’m still amazed by the kind of love I’ve found in Jesus.

And when that truth sunk in, my heart changed. I began to ask, “Lord, how could I not love You back? How could I not want to live a life that pleases You?”

That’s when He began to lovingly point out the things that were polluting my heart, the music I listened to, the shows I watched, and the places I went.

I used to fill my mind with entertainment that didn’t build me up, that chipped away at my spirit. Slowly, He began to separate me from all of that. I came to realize that to live a set-apart life for God, I couldn’t allow even a sliver of the world’s darkness to dwell in me.

And here’s the truth I want you to hear:
Living a consecrated life doesn’t come from a place of obligation. It flows from revelation. When you understand what Jesus did for you, you’ll know there’s nothing you could ever give Him that would be “enough.” But you give Him your life anyway. Not to earn His love, but because you’ve been wrecked by it.

So, I’ve laid down my own plans, not because I have to, but because I’ve found greater joy in living for His cause. Being set apart for Him is no longer a burden, it’s a love response.

Constrained by Love to live a consecrated life.

The word constrained means to be tightly held or to be surrounded so that one cannot escape. When a person is moved by love, he will experience such a sensation. Love will bind him and thus he will be helpless. Love therefore is the basis of consecration. No one can consecrate herself without sensing the love of God.

I was bought back by the Lord. I am like a slave whom the Lord purchased with the highest bid. Christ the son of God has bought me not with silver or gold, but with His precious blood. Herein is love and such love ought to constrain every young person to live for Him from this day forward.

You will quietly set yourself apart from everything in order to be wholly the Lords. O lord, being loved, what else can I do than to separate myself from everything that I may serve you? Here after no one may use my hand or feet or mouth or ears for these my two hands are to do your works, my two feet are to walk your ways, my mouth to sing your praise and my ears to listen to your voice. This is consecration.

How it all started….

In Exodus 28 and 29 with Leviticus 8;18-28 we see that consecration is something very special. There are so many people in the world yet no one is able to consecrate himself. The entire nation of Israel were chosen by God yet not the entire nation became a consecrated nation. Not all the twelve tribe of Israel were able to enter into consecration, for only the tribe of Levi was chosen. And not the whole tribe of Levi was consecrated only one family alone, the family of Aaron. This indicates that consecration is not for everyone, it is exclusive to one family and one has to be a part of that family before he may be consecrated. Only those from the house of Aaron may be priests.

Thank God today we belong to this family, for all who belong to the Lord are of this family. Rev. 1:5-6. Today all the redeemed ones are priest, chosen by God to be priests.

Formally, only those from the House of Aaron can be consecrated and called priests but now only those chosen by God can be consecrated.

It is important to note that men do not choose to consecrate themselves to God, it is God who chooses men to be consecrate to Him. All who consider themselves as doing God a favor by forsaking all to serve Him are actually strangers to consecration. Rather it is God who favors us to have a part in His exclusive work.

In the old testament, priest wore two garments, one for glory and one for beauty. In consecration, God cloth us with glory and with beauty. May we recognize that consecration means we are choosing for the honor of serving God.

In Hebrew the word consecration actually means to fill the hands. The hands were at first empty, but then are filled. When our sins are solved and accepted in Christ, our hands must do God’s bidding, our feet must walk Gods way, and our our ears must hear Gods word. As Paul urged us; I beseech you brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. We need to come to the Lord and see that there is only one way.

Paul went on to say that; Do not conform to the pattern of this world. There are template the world present for people to copy, we see them in business, dressing, speech and many other ways. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind by the word of God.

whether You are called to be a wife, mom, teacher, care-giver, whatever it is you are doing, you are called to live a set apart life. Your little obedience can transform those around you.

We are to forever conform into His image until we completely look like Him. That’s the goal.

I find greater joy in living for His purpose than I ever found in chasing my own plans.
Because love, real love redefines everything. And to live set apart for, let love becomes your why.

Have you ever experienced a moment when God’s love redefined your life?
Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your story.