Purity

I ran across this word this morning, and I smiled. It's such an old-fashioned Victorian-style word, one hardly hears it anymore except in church perhaps. I wonder if the many people raised in the era of sexual freedom realize that "purity" is a beautiful term, in many ways.

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, to be "pure" is to be unmixed with any other matter; free from dust, dirt, or taint; spotless, stainless; free from harshness or roughness. On the plus side, it is "being in tune, musically." Another definition is "free from what vitiates, weakens, or pollutes; containing nothing does not properly belong." Doesn't that sound impressive and sound in nature? Purity stands for cleanliness, clean actions, and meticulous choosing of how well you will care for your body, inside and out. It requires a very high regard for one's self, not out of arrogance but simply for good physical and emotional health. Sexual purity frees the holder from many diseases caused by sexual carelessness, recklessness, and debauchery.

Many people in our culture today would have us believe that purity is old-fashioned and not practiced much anymore. They are wrong. God's followers have steadily pursued pure lives. If you doubt this, ask the people of the Church that you know. They will tell you that there is a rare, pristine quality of life to being and staying pure in mind, action, and heart. In contrast, the carnal pleasures of this world and the joys of boisterous partying have shallow roots that offer no deep satisfaction or underlying contentment to one's life.

To be the only sexual partner your spouse has ever known is to experience another kind of freedom, a special kind. The sex act, at its best, is not a competition, it is an expression of love---the fulfillment of the closest kind of intimacy. This, I believe, is why God finds a parallel with the sexual act and his relationship with his devoted followers. In Revelation 21 John talks about the people of God being "a bride adorned for her husband." He calls Jesus the Bridegroom. Such intimacy is marred and scarred unless it is protected by a singular devotion to purity and holiness.

God shows people the way and helps us attain and maintain purity. The Bible tells us in Psalm 119:9-10 (format and punctuation mine):
"How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to (God's) word."
"With my whole heart I will seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments."

Enjoying the freedom and joy of pure living,
Margaret