God chose birth as an illustration for our acceptance in Him. If you search for the word “birth” in Scripture, you will find it more than a hundred fifty times, almost a third of those in Genesis – the beginning of God’s narrative with the world.

None of us played any role in our physical birth. It was given to us as a gift. Like Adam, Eve, and every human since, we showed up on this planet without a vote. Our existence is a gift bestowed on us. We did nothing to earn it. And God approves it as such. We, like all of His creation, are “good”.

However growing up is different. What we become in life has a lot to do with the choices we make. Another word for “sanctification” might be “growing up and becoming what God made us to become.”

The choices we make as we mature through life either reinforce the gift of our birth or stray from it. We take it for granted, but the human brain develops until we are well into our twenties. Our bodies are made to progress, to mature.

So it is with our faith. We are given the gift of birth, the gift of acceptance. But we are not meant to be stagnate. We are meant to grow, to continue to mature in our faith and rely on God throughout the journey of life.

Sanctification is the level to which we mature in our faith. The decisions we make to steward the gift of our existence.

“For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.” – Psalm 71:5-7