God revealed to me that my idea of purity revolved around conduct. I always thought of purity in regard to positive and healthy actions that were in line with his holiness. My understanding of purity was faulty (not completely false, but incomplete). Purity is not focused on “good vs. bad,” but rather “one vs. many.”
"One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." -Psalm 27:4
As I was reading through the Sermon on the Mount recently, this passage stood out to me. Jesus talks about plucking out your eye if it causes you to sin. What a radical act of devotion! Truth be told, I am not likely to gouge out my eye or cut off my hand. I don’t see many people walking around with one hand or one eye. I think it’s pretty obvious that Jesus is talking in hyperbole here. The reason is that if I gouge out my eye and my heart doesn’t change, I would still have another eye that would cause me to sin. However, finding the truth and wisdom is still important for us to wrestle with and meditate on.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:27-30
So, I believe one of the things that God reveals to us through this passage is his desire for his people to pursue radical purity. What would it look like for me to live with radical purity? What would it look like to radically keep me from being polluted by the world? Would the world look at me right now and think that I had lost my mind because of my pursuit for purity?
What is purity? For a long time, I had the wrong idea in my mind about what purity even was. I thought that purity was speaking of right and moral actions. As I was praying into purity recently, I had this idea come to mind of a big cauldron of boiling metal. It was boiling slowly and steadily. All of the dross that collected at the top was pulled off and thrown away.
Then I heard God ask me, “What’s left?”
I replied, “The good things.”
He replied back to me, “One Thing.”
With all the slag removed, all that’s left is one thing...pure metal. God revealed to me that my idea of purity revolved around conduct. I always thought of purity in regard to positive and healthy actions that were in line with his holiness. My understanding of purity was faulty (not completely false, but incomplete). Purity is not focused on “good vs. bad,” but rather “one vs. many.”
“The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
- Matthew 13:22
God desires to strip away the many things that call for our attention and devotion until all that’s left is one thing...Him. This process takes constant surrender and submission. Each time we allow God to strip away all these other things, we can become more singularly focused on Him. This process makes us one - singular in our devotion.
The amazing thing is that when we are living in purity, our actions are conformed to the character of God. When we are living pure, we find ourselves in God and God in us. We are able to remain/abide in the vine, and we produce fruit in accordance with His Spirit. However, that’s not the motive - it’s a byproduct.
In John 15, Jesus invites us to “remain in him” to “remain in the vine,” and when we do this, we will produce fruit. Apart from Him, we can produce nothing. So many times, when talking about purity, we focus on the fruit. Instead of focusing on the source. The job of a branch is not to produce fruit. The job of the branch is to stay connected to the vine and act as a conduit for the life-giving source that comes from the vine to produce the fruit. As I understand it, our one task - one job - is to stay solely focused on Him and stay connected to Him. As I do that, he will lead me, guide me, and produce holiness within me.
However, all of this has to come from a place of deep submission, surrender, and humility. It has to come from a place that realizes that I am completely dependent on God. I can actually do nothing apart from Him (Jn 15:5). This is the challenge. This is the struggle. For it takes dying daily to the flesh, to the world, and to self and throwing ourselves to the feet of Jesus to fill us, make us new, and satisfy our every longing.
When I view purity in this way - “One vs. Many” instead of “Good vs. Bad” - the scriptures read completely differently.
All throughout scripture, we see that God is after the heart of His people. He desires their love and affection. The actions follow their affections. We can see this all the way back at the beginning of Israel’s formation at Sinai. God invites them into covenant with Him. He desires their affections...their heart. Their actions will follow what their heart desires, and shortly after Moses left to go up onto the mountain, we see that their hearts were not solely committed to Yahweh. They were still bound up with worshipping the gods of Egypt.
What does it take to live, solely focused on the Lord these days? It takes the same thing it has always taken. It takes our hearts being fully consumed with Him. David wasn’t perfect, but his heart wasn’t tainted with love for any other gods of that time. His heart was fully devoted to the LORD. He was far from perfect, but he was fully consumed with love for Yahweh.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."
- 1 Timothy 4:12
So, what would it look like to live with radical purity? What would it look like to be so singularly focused on God that the world thought I was insane? What is the Spirit trying to refine in you - to allow you to be more singularly focused on God? Are you willing to submit and surrender, trusting in his wisdom and goodness?
Take some time to reflect. Ask Jesus to shine light and expose areas of your life that aren’t fully devoted. As he does, surrender that to Jesus. Say it out loud and say it daily until that thing no longer has a pull on your life. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it!
