Six years ago my son got really sick ended up needing a stem cell transplant. Without question, it was the hardest season of my life. I remember during that time praying, “God, just save my son’s life. If you save my son’s life, that will be enough.” And by God’s grace, He did.
But then something unexpected happened. Make-A-Wish reached out to us after his stem cell transplant and offered us this incredible trip for the two-year journey my son had been through—from getting sick to getting healthy.
It was one of the most incredible things we have ever been through, and the most incredibly humbling. It was something that we hadn’t earned, that we hadn’t expected, that we couldn’t repay, but was a very generous gift from people who saw what we were going through and wanted to help us through that.
As I think back on that trip, which I do a lot, it reminds me of God’s grace to you and to me.
In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul writes, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time: to show His grace through Christ Jesus.”
Paul wrote 2 Timothy from a jail cell in Rome, expecting to be executed any day. He wanted to encourage Timothy, who was a pastor in Asia, to remain strong in the faith.
Paul uses the word holy here. We use the word holy a lot in church, but we don’t always know what it really means. The word holy means to be set apart.
So, when Paul writes that God saved us and called us to live a holy life, he is saying that God called us to live a life that is set apart. We have been called and set apart to live a different kind of life.
A lot of times, when people think about salvation and Jesus, they think, “Well, God sent Jesus to save us from hell.” And He definitely did that. But He didn’t just save us from hell. He called us to share the good news of heaven here on earth.
We have been set apart:
- To love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind.
- To live in community with other believers.
- To become more like Christ in our character.
- To serve others in love.
- To share the good news with love.
We have been called to live a holy life.
God’s grace doesn’t just save you—it calls you. God’s grace calls you to share the hope of heaven here on earth.
So, what does it look like for you to live called? What does it look like for you to live a holy life as you go into meetings, work on projects, commute, spend time in your home, serve in your neighborhood, and gather in your church?
Spend some time with the Lord and ask, “God, what’s one way I can live called this week?”
Because God’s grace doesn’t just save us—it calls us.
Jeff McClung 