31days // What is Purity?

Purity. I want to take some time today to express what that word means to me. After all, that's what these 31 days are all about, right? 

{pu - ri - ty}

- freedom from adulteration or contamination - (source)

{a-dul-ter-a'tion}

- to make impure or inferior by adding foreign substances to something - (source)

{con-tam-i-nate}

- to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it - (source)

I love that the very first word in that definition of purity is freedom. Because in my experience, that's exactly what it is. It's finding freedom, freedom from anything that does not come from God. You want to know what purity has freed me from? Where do I even start? 

-Bondage

-Fear

-Shame

-Condemnation

-Lies

-Anxiety

-Gossip

-Stress

-Doubt

-People pleasing

-Perfectionism

-Eating Disorder

-Alcoholism

We live in a world that tells us that purity goes hand in hand with saving sex for marriage, that they are one in the same. To that, I would say that saving sex for marriage is a result of pursuing purity, but if you limit purity to just that, then you are missing the point. 

My sweet friend L sent me the devotional Pure, by Rebecca St. James. In it, Rebecca sums it up perfectly.  
"To be pure is to seek His purpose first and foremost in our lives." 

It has little to do with sex, and has everything to do with God. So easily we can fixate on one tiny piece of a very complex, and beautiful puzzle. The scary fact is, we can go our entire life thinking that we are pure for saving ourselves for marriage, and miss the entire concept all together. We can miss the freedom that purity brings by instead enslaving ourselves to the very law that it frees us from. 

Purity is not about following a rule. It's about letting God into our hearts to change us from the inside out. What do all of the above definitions have in common? The idea that purity is keeping out what doesn't belong inside in the first place. And how do we do that? By putting the right thing in its place. 

I have hidden your word in my heart, 

that I might not sin against you. 

// Psalm 119:11 //

Purity may seem like a struggle at first, but that's only because it can feel so counter intuitive to what our culture tells us. The more you let go of the rules, and embrace the Spirit, the easier it becomes. You will find yourself craving the purity that was once a challenge in the first place. 

And one more thing, friends. Purity is not a title that can be lost. It doesn't matter where you've been, He is the one who makes you white as snow. And that can never, ever be taken from you.