"Set Apart"
January 2, 2017
... they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (Luke 2:22b).
Read Luke 2:22-24.
I was really rough on toys when I was a kid. Few of the presents I opened on Christmas day actually lasted through the 12 days of Christmas. Sadly, I realize now that only two of all those great toys still survive to this day: a Tiny Tonka bulldozer and a gas-powered Cox mini-van. The van doesn't run, and the bulldozer has a few rust spots on it, but those two toys stand apart as special to me because of their physical connection to my long-gone childhood.
Today's devotion is about the day Jesus was set apart as someone special. After the eighth-day circumcision, the next big event for firstborn male children was their presentation at the temple in Jerusalem, when they were 40 days old.
The firstborn male child of each family was set apart as holy to the Lord. And among all the Jewish boys presented, this Son was unique. Through His miraculous conception, Jesus was the only male Child who truly stood apart from all His fellow Israelites, the only One who was actually holy to the Lord, in, and of Himself.
In His presentation Jesus was officially set apart and presented to the Lord for the unique work He would undertake, saving all people from sin, death and hell. Through faith in Him, God sets you and me apart from all people, so we may serve the Lord and share Jesus' story with those around us.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, through Your Son Jesus Christ, You have set me apart as holy. Equip me and all your children in Jesus to share His wonderful salvation with those around us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
