“Dear Princess,” he responded, “few treasures are so easily lost as thy purity – yet few so important to keep.”
Purity is a subject that has been heavy on my heart lately. And I don’t really mean sexual purity, because while that is an important goal/attribute, most of us already know about it and hear about it on a regular basis. My thoughts have been focused on inner purity- purity of motives and desire.
The above quote is from a book I recently began reading called Before You Meet Prince Charming. It’s a book directed towards young girls (about 11-15) and the call to have radiant purity. Kayla and I have decided to study scripture and a few other texts together so that hopefully, in the near future, we can lead a study with younger girls in our homeschool group and churches. I’m really looking forward to it as a time to build up my relationship with her, the young girls, and most importantly- God.
In Before You Meet Prince Charming, the author throws in a few sections of a “fairy tale” about a young(16), innocent princess who has been protected and adored by her father, the King. One day, she began to question if there was something wrong with her innocence – “But if I never experience the real world, I fear I will never fit in.”
[According to Random House Dictionary of the English Language - College Edition...]
Innocence: n. 1. The quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong. 2. Chastity or purity “She has not lost her innocence.” 3. Freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness. 4. Simplicity; guiltlessness; ingeniousness. 5. Lack of knowledge or understanding naïveté of an unworldly person. 6. Harmlessness; innocuousness...
[For the rest of this post, try to think of the word “innocent” as including ALL those definitions of the word, unless I specifically describe one definition. You can throw rocks at me later if you really disagree, but that’s the viewpoint I’ve taken through this study. ]
Innocence: n. 1. The quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong. 2. Chastity or purity “She has not lost her innocence.” 3. Freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness. 4. Simplicity; guiltlessness; ingeniousness. 5. Lack of knowledge or understanding naïveté of an unworldly person. 6. Harmlessness; innocuousness...
[For the rest of this post, try to think of the word “innocent” as including ALL those definitions of the word, unless I specifically describe one definition. You can throw rocks at me later if you really disagree, but that’s the viewpoint I’ve taken through this study. ]
Innocence (in the sense of sheltered innocence) is looked on in such a negative light. It’s true, we shouldn’t separate ourselves from the world because we need to experience it and be able to connect with others on a reasonable level in order to be effective spreading the Gospel. But being innocent can also mean being blameless, or guiltless. God washes away our sin and restores us – even makes us brand new creatures, but we are supposed to maintain and keep that purity to the best of our abilities. Placing yourself in a situation that could potentially lead to sin isn’t excusable just because “I need to connect with others and understand them.” Pure light is not meant to be covered up by even a façade of ungodliness; it’s supposed to stand on a pedestal to shine into the lives of others.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Experience with pain and trials is not what I’m saying we should be "innocent" about; because those, in most cases, DO have meaning and potential. We aren’t supposed to bury our head in the sand and look for shelter every time a trial arises in our life. No. Those are the times when we need to rely on God to direct us, point out our weaknesses in our relationship with Him, and help us learn from it – grow and be strengthened. 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The pure innocence of a child is beautiful, not shameful, and it isn’t biased. A child who is truly innocent won’t seem so in front of some people and not in front of others. While it’s tempting, we can’t allow ourselves, as children of the King, to be “pure” in only one section of our lives. After all, God sees every piece to the puzzle, not just the pretty ones. Motive is where I’ve recently questioned my own purity; and to my dismay and frustration, I discovered that it wasn’t as pure as I’d allowed myself to believe. Giving your heart to God is best source of protection, comfort, and peace that you can ever hope for. I was disappointed to realize that I had allowed pieces of my own heart, which I knew God was asking me to give entirely to Him, to be chipped away. What is more fulfilling than loving and having a relationship with God? Nothing; yet I, in the past, had become discontent and ended up losing even a small portion of what could have been given over to Him as whole and –well, pure. But now, through His grace, I’ve been remade and no longer need to feel unworthy to enter His presence. (<- A post on that subject coming soon :D )
So, my point, which I went way off on a terrible rabbit trail to explain (sorry), is this – Even if we know that our purity and innocence before God has already been tainted or maybe even shattered, He is ready to wash it away completely. Then, – coming back to the quote – we need to KEEP it as the priceless treasure that it is. When I think about how important it is for us to please and remain purely beautiful in the sight of the Lord, I can’t help but wonder how we could risk that purity, which He loves, for things that are temporary and don’t really matter. “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” It’s easy to get caught up in impure things because we think under “finite” terms. Pressure to sin and desire for popularity, wealth, and attention are RIGHT THERE in front of us; but God? He’s way of in the distance – you know, eternity. :P The thing is, He is INFINITE. Infinite doesn’t just mean He goes on forever in the future, it means that He is without boundary. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) We TALK to Him daily, constantly (or should anyways) and we can FEEL His presence, we can SEE His wondrous miracles. So why do we act as if He doesn’t see the sin in our lives right now? The lyrics to a beautiful song remind me of the kind of attitude I want to have toward my walk with Him. “I don’t want to talk about You like You’re not in the room. I want to look right at You. I want to sing right to You.” As a friend recently testified to me: “No more secret sin!” Admit it and do you and your Creator a huge favor by handing it over. He’s not going to condemn you; He’s going to be overjoyed to relieve a burden off of His beloved child’s back.
Stop for a second and think about where our purity –our light- comes from. It’s because of our redemption through Him that we can be white as snow, He commanded the light to shine on and out from us. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of us, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge and of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6. Our purity, while it is cherished and respected by the people around us, can never be as adored as it is by the One who gave His son that we might achieve it. Protect and be proud of your purity. Don’t let your shield of faith lower, along with your standards and zeal for serving God. Or if you haven’t already, there is no better time than right now to attain purity, to be redeemed and saved by the blood of Jesus. I encourage you to discover the fulfillment and hope that comes from a personal relationship with Someone who loves you and finds you so precious that He gave His only son to die on a cross…just to save YOU; so that you can dwell with Him in heaven for eternity. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” - Matthew 13:45
John 14:23 – “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.”
