These past few days as we are coming closer to Easter Sunday, I've been thinking about purity. I think it's also been on my mind because I've been typing out a story for the past year about my own personal stories of love. In it I have written the struggles I had with trying to live a pure life in having Jesus as my core focus, and how hard it is to have that mindset when you are attempting purity in our relationships with others.
There is a constant struggle to live our lives pure and holy in every way. Maybe some try harder than others, since some people don't tend to even give thought to how to live. Instead they believe in "living life to the fullest" which is the usual worldly excuse to have fun without caring about what you do, who you are harming along the way, or the outcomes of what you are doing. To me living life to the fullest is to want the perfection of Jesus to be part of your every essence in all you do. We know we can't ever be perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for Christ's ultimate perfection. That was always my mindset since I was a teenager and had a better understanding about who Jesus was. I screwed up by hitting a lot of bumps along the way, as everyone will find themselves doing, but through those things I was able to realize my faults and climb my way into my Spiritual Daddy's arms after realizing the consequences of my wrong doings and how I could only move forward if I truly learned from my mistakes.
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." -1 Peter 2:2-3
Eastertime has the yearly reminder for us all of how Jesus sacrificed his flesh on the cross so that we might be healed and live our lives in purity. He renews us and makes us feel whole again. Some people give things up for Lent. I like the idea of giving up my whole being to Christ every single day. Lent should be a daily sacrifice of ridding ourselves of the impurities we fill our lives with, and filling it with Jesus in what we say and do. Lent should not be something simple that you give up for a short time. We need to work at it with effort every day until we get rid of it completely. Sometimes I realize I mess up a lot by not saying something loving enough to someone (for an example). I have to take it to Jesus again sometimes more than once in a day because I am always failing Him. We need to get rid of something in our lives permanently so it won't have to harm us ever again. That's hard, but worth it.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." -Matthew 5:8
How can you be pure? You might be thinking, as I often think of myself sometimes, "I've done a few things that have really ruined my mindset of being a pure person."
In James 1:27 it states that we can't obtain purity if we allow the world to pollute us. There are so many things that take us away from the mindset Christ wants us to have. We are supposed to live pure and Holy lives. If we are going to let the worldliness around us be acceptable, how are we ever going to be able to maintain purity? We can't mix truth and lies. We can't be luke warm. We need to choose to either follow Christ or let the world take over what we do in our lives. He gives us grace. We will mess up, and have messed up. To strive for a relationship with Jesus, we are going to have to make sacrifices in our lives that are very tough and may change our whole outlook on right and wrong. The more you dwell on the Lord and try to live a pure and Holy life for His sake, the more we are going to have things revealed to us about Him. There are so many people who are searching for truth through their experiences. Instead of giving it straight to Jesus, they feel empty inside. That void they have can be filled if they give up themselves to the Lord.
"If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. " -2 Timothy 2:21-22
Continue to cry out to the Lord. Read his Word daily so it will help you throughout your days be able to follow Him more consciously. Be careful in everything you say and do. We are all learning and growing. Allow Jesus to be a part of your heart so you can have constant growth.
