Part Five: 1 Timothy 4:12 - Purity

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” “Deliver me from attachment to things unclean, from wrong associations, from the predominance of evil passions, from the sugar of sin a well as its gall, that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching – I may come to thee, cast myself on thee, trust in thee, cry to thee, be delivered by thee. O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom. If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it, but do thou sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that nothing be lost.” From The Valley of Vision - Purification “But teach me…that I fall short of the purity thou requirest, because in thinking I am holy I do not seek holiness, or, believing I am impotent, I do no more.” From The Valley of Vision – Reliance “My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze, my secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance.” From The Valley of Vision – New Beginning I discussed some aspects of purity in my previous post on being an example in Love. Especially that we are to treat friends as brothers and sisters in Christ, with all purity. But what IS purity? Is it just in how we act or what we say? Well, it does include those things (not taking what is rightfully not ours yet, and thinking of what will best serve the other person rather than just following our own selfish passions), but purity is an attitude of the heart. It starts with a resolve to do all that God has commanded, and to surrender all the passions of the heart, and all of the sins – once discovered – into God’s care. It is after it has started deep within – with that resolve – that it can and will then seep out into all we do and say. It will affect our relationships, how we spend our time, and how we pray. And, as the writer of one of the prayers from The Valley of Vision above stated, God may use the crucible – fire…the difficult times – to purify us, and grow us, but if we ask him to guard the growth, so that no lesson is lost, while that which is imperfect is melted away, he will be sure to do so. When purity characterizes our lives, others will notice the difference. “Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22 As this verse states, as we seek to grow in purity and to live lives characterized by it, we are to do it with others who’s passions are the same as our own – who call on the Lord from a pure heart. We need friends who will be honest with us and friends whom we can trust to keep us accountable. They are a great source of growth in my life. I would encourage you to seek out these people in your own life, and ask God to help you humbly consider whatever correction they may bring. Again, I have written about this several times before…but why would you want to give away part of your heart or body to someone who is not your spouse? I emphatically encourage you to save all you possibly can for that one person until your wedding day. What is a heart that is torn into a hundred different pieces for a hundred different people? God can and will forgive mistakes like that, but the truth remains that your heart can never be completely the same. Would you like to receive a small piece of a torn-up heart, or one whole and beating with passion? Save all you can, and you and whomever you marry one day, if God allows, will both rejoice – though it may be hard at times before then – it will be more than worth it. "Be warm, but pure." - Lord Byron