I have been thinking about the word “consecration” lately. All of the following words help describe a consecrated person or life.
Sanctified: to be sanctified we must go through a sanctification
Dedicated
Hallowed
Devoted
Committed
purified
perseverance
loyalty
devout
vow
promise
covenant
diligence
allegiance
fidelity
fervent
pledge
My definition of Consecration:
Consecration is a divine principle that invokes holiness to a life of purpose. It is a devotion or dedication that springs from a deep feeling of loyalty and love for God, and is a process of righteousness that leads one to live his or her life in consecration to the service of God. It is a hallowing of one’s life to a higher, holier purpose. A vow or promise to dedicate one’s time, talents and everything which the Lord has blessed one with to His Holy Service.
I have had many experiences which have taught me about the law of consecration, but none so “up close and personal” as having the missionaries for our Church in our home. We were asked to house Sisters. This experience is teaching me (us) about living the law of consecration. It is a crash course in recognizing our weaknesses and humbling ourselves to learn all that the Lord would like us to learn. Like glaring lights coming at me on a dark night while driving, my weaknesses and faults blaze in front of me testing my deepest resolve to humble myself before the Lord to bring glory to His Name through the way I live my life. (Eventually, I hope it may be so.) It has not been easy, but I am grateful that I have been given this experience because what I am learning could not have been learned in any other forum. Thus, I expose my heartfelt expressions to my Father in Heaven:
I am grateful Holy Father, for Thee. My ability to express my feelings for Thee in human words is woefully inadequate. I would that I could but convey, in the most reverent terms, the tenderest feelings of my heart and soul towards Thee, expressing the deep love I feel for Thy perfectness as a Father; as THE Father ~ ultimately perfect in all things ~ ultimately loving me perfectly in all my imperfections. I know what I know is a “hairs breadth” of information on all there is to know ~
Father – I am grateful unto Thee for providing Thy most Perfect and most Righteous and Holy Son, Jesus Christ to save us all from our mortal condition. How perfect is He in His love for Thee in recognizing your loss of all of us if He did not come and fulfill the most ultimate of missions? How pure and perfect is He in fulfilling His mission for our benefit as well, through whose Sacrifice allows us to come unto Thee and Thy loving embrace once again? Whispers of His perfection gently resonate through my soul, stirring up traces of memories of my initial pledge to do all I could to return to Thee with His promised help. His call to “Come unto me all ye that labor…” is a call from Thee Father, to come home through the grace of Thy Holy and Perfect Son. Would that my heart and soul could just be transformed and enter into Thy presence!!!! Alas Thou hast said that nothing unclean can enter into Thy presence except through the “Gate of Holiness,” Thy Son, even Jesus Christ. I heard a quote from one of Thy servants the other day and I loved it:
“The road to salvation always goes through Gethsemane and requires a journey to the summit of Calvary.” (JR Holland)
I understand this.
Gethsemane is the most heart wrenching experience one can experience in mortality. Each of us has a personal “Gethsemane.” While we naturally would shun painful experiences, my belief is that in order to become like the Savior, we must live like Him in all things. None of us will be called to go through all that He went through, but, if we truly desire to become like Him, we must be willing to go through the refiner’s fire: a Gethsemane of sorts.
While I don’t believe that having the missionaries is a painful “Gethsemane” experience, I do feel it is part of the Refiner’s fire in exposing and discarding the impurities of my life so that eventually His countenance may shine through my own. I pray it may be so.
Going through the Refiner’s Fire is a trip to and through the Holy and Sanctifying Garden called Gethsemane.
Refined and Purified 