Purity

Purity

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

To be pure is to be free from mixture or pollution, having a uniform composition. How do we encourage this kind of purity in our children so they will be an example to others? Psalm 119:9 asks and answers that question: “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.”

To be pure, we also need to be cleansed. We ask God to do part of the cleansing process, and we take personal responsibility for another part.

We come to God asking him to create in us a new and clean heart. His promise in 1 John 1:9 assures us that he will: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

But the other part of cleansing is our responsibility. We must put out of our lives those things that cause us to sin. There are thoughts, places, movies, and reading material that would be destructive to our purity and our children’s purity; so we must take responsibility to stay away from them or get rid of them. It’s not right to sit back and wait for God to get rid of these when we can do so ourselves.

When we choose purity by spending time in God’s Word and experiencing cleansing, we reap the beautiful result of being able to love others and influence them for God’s kingdom.

Father,

Thank you for the promise of 1 Timothy 1:5 that when we have “a pure heart, . . . a good conscience, and a sincere faith” (NIV), we can love others. Please strengthen us as we encourage our children to spend time in your Word and to be cleansed of impurities so they can be a positive influence for your Kingdom. Amen.