A lot has been said and even jotted down concerning the topic on Purity. I am alive to the fact that Purity is a key topic that the body of Christ has tackled for sometime. It has become a growing concern in almost every denominational set up in the body of Christ. In fact as I am writing to you, there are a number of ‘holy movements’ that have sprung up in Africa ‘specialized’ in this kind of assignment. According to the vision bearers of such movements, they claim to have a revelation in pursuing purity and holiness.
I have read quite a number of articles that address the topic on Purity and it baffles me the criteria being used by our modern day religious outfits to define Purity. Every denomination claims to have the true revelation in regards to walking in purity and living holy. There are certain denominations even use the Levitical order in the Old Testament as a template to living in purity.
Outside the church, ‘seasoned’ motivational speakers have been capitalizing on this lucrative subject that most youths yearn to learn about. Purity has simply been turned to a cash cow by budding ‘entrepreneurs’ camouflaged as best selling authors, pastors, motivational speakers and mentors. In less than a decade a lot of ‘experts’ on purity have been on the rise. The innocent youths are therefore left on the hands of scrupulous demagogues adorned in sheep skin.
Manipulation and exploitation is what the young generation have fallen prey to. As I write this, my Facebook timeline is saturated with conferences and dinner dates invitations which attendees are expected to cough a few hundreds or even thousands just to be given tips on how to maintain purity in their single-hood. I am not here to throw shades on the subject Purity, but to unveil how the society has turned around the focus.
Human beings from time memorial have had the tendencies of growing familiar to anything they are exposed to. If you allow me to take you back in the garden of Eden, the pristine man had a very close relationship with God that saw him completely contented. It is for this reason that God saw it not good for man to stay alone. He made man a helper and presented her to man. It is important to note that God gave man all the rules and regulations that were to be observed in his stay in Eden.
However, man grew familiar with the instruction that was given to Him concerning the tree of Knowledge of good and evil. It’s from this point of familiarity that Man ended up disobeying God. Man was also quite familiar to his companion that he was unable to resist the plea to partake of the fruit.
Familiarity is common to man. Man was created by God as a relational being. This kind of nature needs to be in a controlled environment where Man will not let any excesses affect his admission of dominion. Purity has been engulfed with a lot of familiarity over the years that it’s slowly losing its potent nature. It is because of such abuse that it’s very hard to encounter virgins in this generation. In fact it’s more becoming like looking for a pin in a haystack. The focus has been distorted from the shepherds down to the flock. The shepherds are leading this atrocity while the flock have no choice than to dance to the image of the golden calf.
The body of Christ started taking a down slope the time it started treating certain realities as experiences. Purity is one such reality that has been constantly abused and treated as a mere experience dependent on season and time.
Ladies and gentlemen, Purity is a constant in the equation of abundant living. Purity is not just a virtue unveiling the external characteristics but it’s a nature that reflects the condition of the inner man in regards to his relationship with God. Purity is continuous in the life of a man and has no pause or stop. It is simply expressed in its superlative form when man derives his righteous requirements from God. As a result, Man adorns the garment of righteousness by the virtue of aligning his soul, mind and body under His superintendence.
Purity should be viewed as a position and not a state. For example sexual purity is to be maintained not just because it’s a prelude to Marriage but because it’s a position that we hold as coheirs in Christ. By walking in purity we simply agree to the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and God has total control over them. Purity should not therefore be treated as a seasonal heated topic such as adolescent. It’s not a stage but a position. It’s better understood as a gift from God that enables Man to be like Him. When man embraces purity, he simply embraces the image of God.
The fall of man brought about the separation of purity from man. However with the coming of Christ, He became the mirror that was engrafted with the restored image of purity. When man looks at Christ, he touches base with the restored purity he is destined to walk in. The broken portal is therefore restored and man has a better perspective of himself in Christ.
It’s therefore important for man to stop defining Purity based on his own limited ability (‘revelation’) and allow Christ to define Purity in his life. Man’s responsibility lies in his will to allow God to set the standard and not mortal men who have no bearing in conveying spiritual truths.
I know I might not have sounded like your everyday mentor who talks about ‘five ways to walk in purity’. However I believe there is only one viable way to do so, and it’s by tuning your mind, body and soul to the right frequency that allows Christ to reach it and administer healing.
