“Re-Embrace” Purity & Our Spiritual Health

(Photo by Selma Komisky)

By Ashley Gomez-Morrison

When we hear the word “purity” most people go straight to the concept of “sexual purity” without taking a moment to stop and think about what other forms of purity exist within Christian culture and societal culture. When I think of purity, what comes to mind is the idea of purity in spiritual health. When considering purity within spiritual health I take several things into account. Where am I in terms of my spiritual journey, do I have enough prior knowledge to pursue purity in my spiritual health, and are there circumstances in my life that can skew my perspective and journey to create a purity within me?

These considerations alongside several key scriptures help us gain the idea of purity in oneself and in one’s spiritual health. I’m sure you’ve heard many of them before, but as we look to re-embrace purity, we will look for a new perspective on these scriptures. The first of these scriptures that begin to guide us towards re-embracing purity is Psalm 51:10.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

I find that this particular piece of scripture is a rather good place to start on your journey to re-embrace purity. For context, when something is considered pure or has purity it means that there is nothing contaminating what is being called pure or full of purity.  Within this particular Psalm David is asking God to make his heart pure again to renew his spirit in God. David has acknowledged that his heart was once not pure and needs to be pure to once again have a relationship with God. The second scripture that I found to be important regarding purity is 1 Timothy 4:12.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

This scripture in particular I think really speaks volumes to the work we are doing at Marked Ministry. As a magazine we are trying to rewrite the past history and stigmas on the concepts that sometimes turn people away from the church, purity being a big concept. As we look to have conversations about purity with a new perspective we need to share the conclusions we come to, and how they can bring us together as Christians, and ultimately closer to God. The last scripture I found important to a new perspective on purity is 2 Timothy 2:22.

“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.”

We can further this new perspective of purity as we look to bring it together with other attributes of Christianity. As Christians, we look to continually express righteousness, faith, love, and peace, while not giving into desire and temptation. This particular scripture reminds us that purity is just as important an attribute as faith, love, peace, and righteousness.

With our newfound perspective on purity separate from the stigma of sexual purity, we can see that purity can have a bigger place in our faith than previously thought. With the concepts of having a pure, steadfast relationship with God, being a Christian who is an ambassador for purity within faith, and the desire to have a pure heart; it’s clear that purity has a more prominent place within Christianity and in our spiritual health.