Let us investigate the motivation/driver for sanctification in the personal arena. In other words, what determines your actions outside of work, ministry, and family? What is your motivation for personal devotions, study, God-conversations, prayer, worship, etc?
Before all else, God is awesome, that's why we worship him. But lets look secondary.
a) Now first. What is our purpose?
i) God purpose in choosing us: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son"
ii) Our lives now: I Corinthians 8:6 "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and FOR WHOM WE LIVE; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."
iii) And our final destination is the bride of Christ (= new Jerusalem), a kingdom of priests, sons of the living God. Revelations 1:6 "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."
b) Let me examine this 'bride of Christ' idea. "And the two shall become one flesh." So we are to become 'one flesh' with Christ. After all, I guess, we are crucified, buried, and raised with him (Collosians 2:12, Romans 6:4). But what does that mean?
Well, what happens in a romantic relationship? (Isn't it nice that God gave us such an aweomse image of the greatest romance between him and the church?). Communication is huge. Talk talk talk. Learn, respect, trust, have fun, etc. This is all easily said but not easily done. How the heck do you work towards trusting God more, expecially when you don't fee like it?
c) For the moment we will leave emotional/big stuff aside and branch into the colder applications. More effects of a relationship include large bodies of knowledge about each other, shared knowledge of the external world, taking on each others charachter traits, thought patterns, etc. We are seeking to take on the attributes of God, to become more like him. "And the two shall become one flesh." "Predestined to be conformed into the image of his son."
Application: you are trying to become more like God. This involves learning about him and then changing yourself. (So often I focus on the former and forget the latter!)
d) WARNING: So far this seems like a Sunday school lesson you can forget about. Don't belittle Sunday school. Some items of consideration.
i) Be constantly and painfully aware that there are many things that you have WRONG about God.
ii) Be also aware that there are even MORE things that you don't know about God, and are even in the dark about what exists to be known.
iii) You will never run out of stuff to learn about God. It's a blessing, actually, and a by-product of pursuing an infinitely amazing God.
iv) This is DEFAULT. Turn to this when you are stuck pursuing lesser goals. This means stuff not-God related. Family, God-pursuing work (secular inclusive, obviously, it dpends on attitude), ministry, etc are all in the works. I'm talking pursing that fancy boat, video games, promotions, getting the best boy/girlfriend etc.
Pursue God. He wants to be pursued. He already died chasing after you. What will you do in return? It's not like anywhere else is going to fufill the purpose for which you were created or overflow your wildest dreams...
