I was recently giving a seminar where we were looking at the difference between/similarities in, being holy and being blameless. I was struck by the thought that in our christian culture we can be so determined to talk about purity and stand for it, but it seems like we have allowed ourselves to become more and more stained by the world.
Have you ever heard a brother/sister say, "Well, I'm ok with this or that because it doesn't affect me." What they mean is they can take something in (by watching) because it will not cause them to fall in moral purity. However, the scripture is just as much against being stained by the world - blameless!
Here's Strong's concordance on Holiness: (emphasis mine)
It's fundamental idea is separation, consecration, devotion to the service of Deity, sharing in God's purity and abstaining from earth's defilement.
Wow - sharing in God's purity!
We are not supposed to be determining what holiness for ourselves will look like - we are supposed to be discerning what He says holiness is, and adopting His standards for our own.
This little creature below is a compelling example!
Have you ever heard a brother/sister say, "Well, I'm ok with this or that because it doesn't affect me." What they mean is they can take something in (by watching) because it will not cause them to fall in moral purity. However, the scripture is just as much against being stained by the world - blameless!
Here's Strong's concordance on Holiness: (emphasis mine)
It's fundamental idea is separation, consecration, devotion to the service of Deity, sharing in God's purity and abstaining from earth's defilement.
Wow - sharing in God's purity!
We are not supposed to be determining what holiness for ourselves will look like - we are supposed to be discerning what He says holiness is, and adopting His standards for our own.
This little creature below is a compelling example!
The Ermine
(Our Daily Bread, April 21, 1997)
In the forests of Northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the Ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don't set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs looks to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn't enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. - HGB
Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if all God's people were to value sharing in His purity to such an extent that they would say, ' it is more precious than life.'
Then we would instinctively keep ourselves from anything that would cause blemish or spot as well!
Then we would instinctively keep ourselves from anything that would cause blemish or spot as well!
3 comments:
Such a good thought and illustration of the irmine. How often do I consider what I think, do, or say in terms of God's purity...the glory of God.
How incredibly important! We need to live by the Lord's standard instead of our own!!!
What a wonderful analogy! Goes well with the Bible Study we're doing at church now too. God's timing is so perfect!
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