Purity…
…how beautiful is this word.
I picture white snowflakes, puffy clouds in the bright blue sky, an innocent newborn baby, a tall glass of crystal clear fresh water. I think of what a white wedding dress “traditionally” represents; purity.
To have pure is to be FREE from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes. FREE from guilt, shame, or evil.
In a world where purity is hard-to-find, in a society where everything is “grey” and nothing seems to be black-and-white — for me, purity is a difficult virtue to instill in my children. I believe it was a difficult virtue for my parents to instill in me. And I’m assuming that in generations before that, it was also difficult. Why? Because everywhere we look, everywhere we turn, there is sin.
We can protect, we can shelter, we can do our best to preserve their innocence, BUT sin.
Sin contaminates. pollutes. wounds. destructs. lies. Sin, impurity, separates us from the One whos purity is the only constant. It…
…WAS. IS. and IS TO COME.
His blood covers all our sin, all our impurities:
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18
Through His free gift of grace and salvation, He can create in us and our children a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within us.
What can wash away my sin? What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
I love how this prayer about purity is about the heart, what’s going on inside, NOT what’s happening on the outside. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
It’s like the saying goes…garbage in, garbage out.
I pray, “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions. And Father, lead me as I lead them — give me wisdom and discernment — show me how to assist them in guarding their heart implementing healthy boundaries. Amen”
—————————————————-
For a FREE printable version of 31 Biblical Virtues graphic go here
On Pinterest? Follow the board created here — and “pin” this page! =)
If you are joining us on this journey and you haven’t already joined the Keeping it Personal Daily KIP e-mail list, go HERE and sign up — my daily virtue reflection will be emailed to you.
To start at the beginning and see the initial invitation/announcement about this, go HERE
About Teri
This is a well meant work of art. I’m sure of that but its also a vast misquote of the Scripture mentioned.
The Psalmist wrote: ‘Create in me a pure heart [some translations give it as a clean heart] and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ Psalm 51:10 NIV
So I’m sorry but you’ve taken an intensely personal notion and mistranslated it into something about other people. And it does both the Scriptures and your readers a great disservice. We get to translate the Scriptures into our own vernacular as Christians. But we don’t get to utterly change their meaning to something other than the Psalmist in this case intended. And with as many translations as there have been in more than three thousand years, [from the time of David] the fact that so many agree with the meaning, the translation as ‘create in ME a pure/clean heart’, the chances of it being misunderstood at this late date are increasingly low.
Send your messages out as you will, surely that is your right. But don’t misquote the Scriptures in order to send them.
Hi Gabrielle. Thank you for sharing your comment. Misquoting scripture is never my intent — I agree we get to translate and express what God’s Word means to us personally {as most sermons and commentaries are that way}. As I read your words, I’m wondering if you’re reading the prayer in the graphic, “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions.” as the misquote? I did not “quote” Psalm 51:10 in the post, but am using it as a reference as we are praying scripture over our children/ourselves on this journey. Each day of “31 Biblical Virtues to pray for your kids.” there is a scripture reference and for purity, Psalm 51:10 is the reference. I’m sorry about the confusion. If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know. Thank you! =)