This is part of my year-long series exploring human-centered alternatives to the spiritual promises in Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Today’s entry, “The Life Side of Sanctification”, promises that believers can receive “the perfections of Jesus Christ” imparted “instantly” through faith, claiming that sanctification involves Christ’s “holiness, patience, love, faith, purity, and godliness” being manifested through believers and gradually developing “a life of indescribable order and sanity.”
Here’s what waiting for Christ’s perfections to be imparted instantly actually delivered:
“Stop trying to imitate Jesus,” his mentor advised with spiritual confidence. “Let his perfections be imparted to you instantly. His holiness, patience, and purity can be manifested through you. You’ll gradually develop indescribable order and sanity through Christ in you.”
Pastor James felt overwhelmed by his moral failures and character flaws—anger issues with church members, relational problems with staff, persistent struggles with lustful thoughts. The promise of instant spiritual transformation through divine impartation seemed like exactly what he needed to overcome these persistent character issues.
James embraced this promise completely. Instead of working on practical character development or seeking counseling for his anger and relational problems, he waited for Christ’s perfections to be imparted to his life. He believed that sanctification would gradually manifest Jesus’s holiness through him without requiring personal effort or professional guidance.
For months, James expected to experience supernatural patience with difficult church members, divine love for people who annoyed him, Christ’s purity replacing his lustful thoughts. When he continued struggling with the same character issues, he intensified his faith efforts, believing the impartation would eventually manifest the life of “indescribable order and sanity.”
But the promised divine impartation was spiritual fantasy that prevented real growth.
James’s anger problems persisted, his relational difficulties continued, his moral struggles remained unchanged despite faithful belief in instant sanctification. The perfections of Jesus that were supposed to be available to him remained completely absent from his actual experience. Christ’s holiness, patience, and purity were nowhere to be found in his daily interactions.
Meanwhile, James’s friend David approached personal growth with zero expectation of divine character impartation. When David recognized his own anger and relationship issues, he began anger management counseling, practiced mindfulness techniques, worked systematically on communication skills through therapy.
David’s character development involved consistent effort, professional guidance, gradual improvement through proven psychological techniques. He didn’t expect instant impartation of divine perfections but worked steadily on developing actual emotional regulation and interpersonal skills.
When James finally sought similar professional help, he discovered that lasting character change required sustained effort and practical techniques, not faith in divine impartation.
Where were Christ’s perfections that were supposed to be imparted instantly? Where was the gradual manifestation of divine holiness and patience through his sanctified life?
The “life of indescribable order” that actually emerged came through learning emotional intelligence and healthy coping strategies, not through divine impartation. The silence where Christ’s perfections were supposed to manifest revealed the truth: there was no divine character impartation available through faith.
Only human development through evidence-based methods that actually worked when consistently applied.
Reflection Question: When has working on character development through proven methods been more effective than waiting for divine perfections to be imparted instantly?
This story is part of my upcoming book “The Undevoted: Daily Departures from Divine Dependence,” which offers 365 human-centered alternatives to the spiritual certainties in Chambers’ devotional. Each day explores how reason, community, and human resilience can address life’s challenges without requiring divine intervention.
God or Delusion? 