Through and Through

Sometimes these words run through my mind.

..."through and through"

These words lead me to a myriad of thoughts. I picture a grocery store aisle. I'm searching all over for some random product. And what about that crazy spice section? Have you ever searched through and through to find something?

Sometimes I see the toy box. There is no counting the number of times I have searched through and through to help one of my kids find the tiniest toy on earth. At times I find cracker crumbs, remnants of broccoli, puzzle pieces....but oh for that tiny wheel or the shrunken little man that is supposed to be piloting the tiny little plane. Through and through I search.

Ever lost a photo or a special letter? Gone through the attic or the basement through and through every box, so many times over and over not willing to give up, and to the point that you now know by heart where everything is? Everything but that one thing?

You ever dig through the junk drawer, through and through, to find the address or phone number you wrote down yesterday and now cannot find?

Through and through seems so intense, so detailed......like nearly physically unearthing something. Doesn't through and through reveal so much. Maybe you find what you aren't even looking for. Or perhaps you clean out a bunch of clutter in the process.

One of my favorite scriptures over the pass few months, one that haunts me at times like today. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Sanctify means "to be made holy" or "to be set apart". And sanctification means "Act of God by which believers become more and more conformed to Christ's image."

I love this repetition of the word "through". He will not just sanctify me and you. He will sanctify us through and through. He will search and shape every part of us. Everything broken. Everything small. Everything hidden. Everything dusty. Everything rotted. All things shredded. All things torn. All things missing, altogether. There can be no such thing as external sanctification, only internal. And this process means that His spirit is going to search us through and through. He will touch every aspect of our character, our thoughts, heart, emotions, sins, and more. And by being a willing agent, this process will shape us more and more into the image of Christ himself....not His external image, but His internal image. Our hopes will be more and more like His. Our love will be more and more like His. Our passion will be more and more like His.

We may be stretched and rearranged when He is doing His work, and surely by the time He is done. But in the "through and through", we will be "more and more." We will be set apart and holy.