Pure

Today I woke up thinking about purity, and how the word is bandied about in marketing, used by God to describe holiness, or as an adjective to express something wonderful and good.

In the still-dark morning, I began to mull over what pure means in terms of everyday life. Random thoughts were…

Pure joy.

Pure chocolate.

Pure water.

Let your mind wander for a moment. What pure things would you enjoy or appreciate today? Love? Peace?  Freedom? Take a second to think of some things.

I also decided to look up the word to see if there are nuances that may open up this little rabbit hole a bit more. Dictionary.com’s first definition is: “free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter”.

So how does one free oneself from “extraneous” things? Where is the source for this pure stuff? Well, for me there is one source of truth, and that is Bible. So, here is a starting point…

“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:8 KJV

Enlightening the eyes…rejoicing the heart. Wow! Those are two tremendous benefits, aside from disentangling from “inferior or extraneous” things. Seeing clearly. That sounds good.

This inspired my prayer today. I ask to have pure air in my lungs, pure thoughts in my mind, and pure intentions in my heart, so I may follow God’s call eagerly and ably.

It’s so simple, right? As they say in Cliché-Town, it’s not rocket science. God doesn’t try to trip us up…His arms are wide open. He is not the bogey in the sky. He is, however, the LORD of all. We can be pure because of, and through Him.

And the journey will be worth it. You know why?

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matt 5:8 KJV [emphasis mine]