Robert Murray McCheyne once wrote to Dan Edwards after the latter’s ordination as a missionary, “In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses, as much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God”.

If there is one important thing that God expects from us, it is for us to have a pure heart and mind because purity is linked with our walk with God

Jesus mentioned something beautiful on purity during His sermon on the mount. He said “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. (Mathew 5:8)

Unfortunately, we’re in a time and age when purity is no longer prized or cherished. Many young men and women, even girls and boys who’ve just crossed the threshold of puberty, are fast losing their virginity. Even if the physical body has not been stained by sin, the mind and the heart covets, lusts, angers, is malicious and thus becomes filthy to our Lord.

It is to such a generation, I believe, that God wants to bring about a restoration of purity.

But can a person’s heart be really flawless? Is there a way for one to see God? Yes, because Jesus has died for our sins and redeemed us from our impurities through His precious blood.

Seeking God intimately is the key to keeping our hearts pure and clean from all the muck that is around us.

It is only Jesus who can make a person’s heart spotless and pure. Today’s generation desires for more spiritual power and authority but fail to remind them of the importance of purity.

Purity with Power

Let us look at the character of Mary (The surrogate mother of Jesus) in the Bible. She was an ordinary Jewish girl from a humble family. She had no influence, she was not famous but from the bible we see that she was someone who worshipped God. (Read Luke 1:46:56)

Mary was a worshipper. Her worship unto God kept her immaculate. Worship brings us into an intimacy with God and makes us one with Him. Mary never sought for power, authority and influence. Her only desire was to be blameless in the sight of God.

The Bible says she was a virgin. God honoured Mary’s heart of worship by sending His angel who said that she had found favour with Him. She was chosen by God to birth the Messiah.

The power of the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she was able to bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit. She had the privilege of carrying the Son of God in her womb. She was surrounded by the presence of God.

To be favoured in God’s presence is the highest honour one can have. Mary enjoyed this highest honour.

Power without Purity.

The Bible vividly describes the life of Samson, a man called to be a Nazarene from his mother’s very womb!

1. Samson was so powerful that, through the Spirit of the Lord, he was able to fight with a young roaring Lion and tear it apart to pieces.
2. He killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass.
3. He took hold of door posts, bars of the city gate on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill.
4. He pulled down an entire building filled with more than 3000 philistines and brought it down to the ground with the strength of God.

Samson had power. Unfortunately, he lacked the purity in character. Though he was called to be a Nazarene, he ate honey from the carcass of a lion, slept with prostitutes and lost his heart to Delilah, a foreigner, who later exposed him to the Philistines.

It is when we strike the right balance between purity and power, that we become more effective in fulfilling the call of God.

How do we strike the balance?

1. Continuously examine your heart’s desires, motives, and needs.
2. Let worship become more of a lifestyle than just Sunday worship.
3. Let there be a constant prayer in your heart to stay pure and holy.
4. Never use the power of God to show people how powerful you are. Instead let the power of God be demonstrated through love and humility.
5. Let us not just desire gifts of the Spirit but also the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

How to guard your purity?

After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that it was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s be very careful to guard our purity.