If you are a child of God, the three letters in our title can be the acronym to your position in Christ. They stand for Called, Sanctified, and Preserved. When asked how they are doing, many Christians employ this well-worn response: “Blessed, and highly favored.” I guess, in this case, one could shorten the reply by saying the acronym, BHF, instead. On the other hand, whenever we use either of these phrases or just their acronyms, there may always be the chance that some will see us as a “goody two shoes.” To avoid that from happening, we may ask the Lord to help us use a better sounding reply. Nevertheless, the truth is that all God’s children can consider themselves blessed and highly favored, as well as “called, sanctified, and preserved."
Called: I suppose you remember the letter you got one day which informed you that you had been “called” to serve on a jury. Immediately you knew you were obligated to report for duty. Nothing in that letter implied that the decision to comply was totally up to you or that it was merely a “request”, and although that was a serious calling, it does not compare to our Christian calling. That is one reason Paul urged the Ephesians: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” (Eph. 4:1
Sanctified: Because they don’t understand it’s full meaning, this is one word that spooks many Christians. In fact, upon hearing you say that you are “sanctified” many, again, will think you are a “holier than though” kind of person. No, “sanctified” merely means we have been “set apart by” God for a purpose. It does not mean we are better than anyone else. Paul began his first letter to the Corinthians with these words: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” (1 Cor. 1:2)
Preserved: In his first letter to the church, Peter blessed God for the great benefits He bestowed upon His children, saying that they are the ones “who are kept (preserved) by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5) Whenever I hear someone say or claim they are faithfully “holding on” to God’s hand, I feel slightly uncomfortable because what matters most is that He is “holding on” to us. And because He is, we should always feel secure.
God’s promise for today: (John 10:28) “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
