Anointed

But you have an anointing from the Holy One.

1 John 2:20

Have you ever been physically anointed? Many years ago, I drove from my home in Houston to Dallas to pick up a friend. We were on our way to another year of college in Lubbock. Her brothers loaded my car with her belongings, then her father gathered all her siblings and the two of us in their living room, circled us up, anointed our foreheads with oil, and prayed for us….for safe travels, for wise hearts and good studies. I was humbled. I was emboldened. I was blessed. That morning, I felt like a cloak of holiness had been wrapped around my shoulders.

The concept of being anointed is described in the Bible in several ways: sanctified, consecrated, to be holy, to be set apart. Anointing expresses the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit upon Christians who are priests and kings unto God.

So what does it mean to be set apart for sacred use? In my day to day life as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, a friend, a co-worker…what does being set apart look like?

An anointed life is one that is lived in the fear of the Lord…a constant awareness of His Presence…all-seeing, all-knowing. It is a realization that I am called…as a wife, a mother, a friend…to live holy…influenced in all things at all times by the Holy Spirit. How often do I profane this consecration by complaining about the trials? How often do I abdicate this sanctification by refusing to be light in the darkness around me? I am called to higher ground. I am anointed. I am set apart for sacred use. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy”.

Rejoice today that you have been anointed, sealed as His. You have holy purpose. And the best news? His anointing teaches you about all things…and that anointing is real (1 John 2:27).

Jill Hardin