In 2014 God gave me a word for the year: peace. I learned all about His peace and
how it is the opposite of stress and how it surpasses my understanding. This
one word became my theme and it brought me closer to the Lord and established
this fruit of the Spirit in my heart.
I enjoyed the experience so much that I asked God for a word
in 2015. But He didn’t give me one. I didn’t ask very persistently and before I
knew it, the year was over. Again, in 2016 I passively asked God for a word and
never received one.
And here we are, a month and a half into 2017. This time I intently
asked the Lord for a word for my year. I deeply desired a word to study, a
trait to acquire. And He gave it to me.
Purity.
I still have ten and a half months (and a whole lifetime) of learning about purity, but so far I am
delving into three facets of this word.
Physical Purity
Physical purity is more than just sexual purity. It
certainly encompasses sexual purity, and it is definitely something worth studying and talking about. I think in Christians communities we're pretty good at implying sexual purity, but I'm afraid it isn't talked about enough. (Future blog posts) Physical purity also incorporates diet and exercise. Am I treating my body as a
temple for the Lord? Am I honoring God with my body? Are the things that I’m
putting into my mouth, into my stomach, beneficial for me? I am becoming
intentional about what I eat and how it is impacting my life. I want to put
pure foods into my body for His glory. And on a similar note, I can exercise
and stay in shape to keep my body pleasing to Him. A simple 30-minute walk-jog
will go a long way in keeping me alert and healthy. Exercising can be an act of
worship because I am responding to His love and blessings by choosing to honor
the Lord with my body.
Mental Purity
Are my thoughts about other people pure? Are the movies, tv
shows, articles, and conversations that I watch/read/engage in, pleasing to the
Lord? Am I keeping my mind clear and pure for Him or am I polluting it with unbeneficial
content? Am I an active learner, keeping my brain engaged with good knowledge? The Lord gave me a highly capable and functioning brain and it should be my natural response to honor Him with it.
Relational Purity
Are my friendships pure and honoring of God? Does He have a
place in our conversations? Is He glorified by the things that I say and do
with my friends? I am a relational person, I love to meet new people and I love
to grow friendships. I also love to address conflicts and restore
relationships. I desire to seek out broken relationships to find
healing and restoration because I believe that it is honoring to God. Purity comes with restoration, right? Well, it can; however,
some relationships that are in conflict are toxic relationships. God may be
allowing the conflict for a reason. There are certain relationships in my life
that have developed into conflict and toxicity and I have desired to restore
them to a pure state. But, I am learning that sometimes it is more honoring to God
to let relationships end. The relationship was never pleasing to Him and it
just needs to go.
With these warm February days, I feel as if I am
spring-cleaning my life. I am seeking to detox my body, my mind, my heart, my
life. I want nothing other than to be pure before the Lord.
“…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God; being
strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance
and patience with joy; giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share
in the inheritance of the saints in light” Colossians 1:10-12
