Consecrated
I gave one of our missionaries a blessing this week and as we talked about consecrated oil, this story came back to mind.
… Some years ago, I was passing through airport security.
Like many times before, I put all my loose items in the security tray.
Picking up my keys, the security officer pointed to one item.
Uncustomarily, he asked “What’s this for?”
“Its an oil vial” I responded.
He looked puzzled.
Explaining further “It’s a religious item. It contains consecrated olive oil for blessings…”
He looked at me rather quizzically, placed them back in the tray and signalled me to move on.
With a large queue of people behind me, I regret that I didn’t take more time to explain.
Religious
What does it mean to 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 something?
“To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes.”
Why olive oil?
Olive oil is used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in blessing the sick and anointing in the temple.
The consecrated olive oil is then stored in a vial and used when required.
Parables
New Testament parables use oil as a symbol of healing, light, sacredness, purity and the Holy Ghost. (Luke 10:34)
In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint the sick (Mark 6:13; James 5:14). Just as I had done earlier this week.
In a similar manner, all of our missionaries make sacrifices of their time, as they consecrate their service by quietly going about doing good, just like our Saviour, Jesus Christ – see Acts 10:38.
It takes a great desire, dedication, endurance, and obedience to be a missionary.
Jesus Christ demonstrated that a consecrated life, is a life of service.
As they leave their fears behind, we have seen many of our missionaries in Belgium and the Netherlands make great sacrifices to become truly consecrated servants of the Lord.
For us, it is a real joy to be with such consecrated missionaries.
As they consecrate their efforts, the Lord always makes up the rest.
How can you consecrate your efforts to God?
