Set Apart to be Sent Out

[Y]ou shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. // Exodus 19:5

I am picking up on a pattern in my life with the Lord. When He asks something missional of me, I can work backward and see that the “sending forth” is preceded by a period of particular intimacy with Him. (And, before that, a hefty dose of suffering, pruning, or purification.) 

God made us for Himself, so He is aware of our deep longing for Him. We want to be His “special possession.” We desire to be “dearer” to Him “than all other people.” 

And, blessedly, we are. 

This extravagant love is so generous that we can be tempted to believe that it may be true for everyone else . . . just maybe not for us. After all, look at all I’ve done. Look at how I’ve failed and faltered. Look at my laundry list of sins and shortcomings. Look at my littleness.

Yet it is precisely this helplessness that draws His Heart toward us. We see this in today’s Gospel when “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Even Saint Paul in the First Reading proclaims the truth that “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God brings the unworthy and unlikely to Himself. He loves us as a shepherd, in spite of our brokenness. He loves us specifically and sets us apart.

Then, He sends us out—still unworthy and unlikely—but transformed by His grace. His love is not merely consoling: it’s propelling. Being chosen by and brought close to God necessarily ignites within us the desire to tell others about this life, too. 

He is not concerned with the worldly size of our mission field. It does not matter whether you are speaking of His love on a stage in a stadium, or to your toddler at bedtime, or with your co-workers during lunch. 

You have been set apart to proclaim His Heart. 

Sister, consider today how the Lord is bringing you close to Himself. Then, ask Him where He would like you to labor for the harvest.