What
purity means to me.
There's a
difference in my opinion between being a virgin & being pure.
Purity pertains
to the person as a whole. Pure in mind, pure in soul and pure physically. I
believe that being a virgin is part of being pure, but I don't believe that
being a virgin necessarily means you're pure. So, purity encompasses virginity,
though virginity doesn't necessarily encompass purity.
See, being a
virgin is refraining from one act. While being pure is pursuing the Lord and
resisting the daily temptations that this world is filled with. Being pure is a
daily effort.
Purity is not
so much something that you lose, but something that you gain as
you grow in the Christian life.
I believe the
Lord calls us to be pure. In 6th grade I was young and sort of oblivious to the
fullness of purity, but I asked for a purity ring. When I got my ring I
promised God I would save myself for marriage, but as I got older I started to
realize that there was more to that promise than I initially realized. I
promised to be a virgin, but I wanted to be more than just a virgin. I wanted
to strive to be pure, & being pure for me meant refraining from other acts
that were intended for marriage.
Being pure
meant cutting pop music out of my daily life, because the bad words and
underlying meaning would linger in my mind. Being pure meant not surrounding
myself with people who used language I didn't prefer or people who made different
choices. Now, I'm not saying I couldn't be their friend or hang out with them;
I just had to be careful how much time I allowed them because I'm weak. Let me
say that again because it's important; I am weak, so weak, therefore I
had to remove my self from certain things because I didn't want to allow satan
to get a foothold.
Purity is
something Tyler & I discussed before we ever started dating & we both
agreed to strive for purity...not just to be virgins. We agreed that we cared
about each other too much to take things that were meant for our future
spouses. (little did we know, we would actually be each other's ‘future’ spouse,
funny how God works!)
As our
relationship has grown from year to year the Lord has reminded us to be
faithful. He has reminded us that it will all be worth the loss of temporary
desires.
I believe it's
never too late to strive to live a life of purity. I serve a loving, forgiving
& gracious God that wipes all our sins away with the simple words of
"Lord I'm sorry, please forgive me."
It's never
too late to live a pure life.
Tyler has
something to say to the guys:
Men, we must
set our sights on having a pure mind, body, and spirit. We must refuse to
accept anything less. Purity in general is something that is hard to attain,
and is almost looked down upon in our day and age. This seems to be especially
true for men, who are expected to be driven by sex.
I always wanted
to stay pure, but that does not mean it was always easy. It was not and is not
and never will be easy. What motivated me was the thought of my future wife. I
wanted the best for her and I wanted to be my best for her. Being the best for
her meant focusing on purity and included keeping my mind and spirit pure while
also keeping my body pure for her. Being around guys that talked about women disrespectfully
or talked about inappropriate things was difficult for me. Soon after purity
became more important to me, I realized I had to remove myself from guys who
were not striving for purity.
Katelynn, The
Lord knew dating you was perfect for me. I loved how much you loved the Lord,
respected yourself, and respected your future husband. We were so open about
our morals and agreed to embark on the journey of purity together. It always
was and always will be attractive to me how much you desire to be pure.
I love you, I
can’t wait for you to be my wife.
Fellas, this
journey of purity is never going to be easy, but I encourage you to strive
daily to be the Man of God you are called to be. Make choices that make it
easier for you to stay pure. Surround yourself with Godly influence & arm
yourself with scripture for when temptation comes. Be accountable to a friend
group & remember you are not alone on this journey.
Pray for your
future. Pray for your wife. Pray that together & separately you will devote
yourselves to a life of purity & pursuit of Jesus.
Ty & I will
be getting married May 29th 2016!!!
On that day we
will still promise to strive for purity in our marriage. Not necessarily
refraining from physical things anymore (because in a marriage those things are
considered pure & holy) but we will strive for purity in our hearts, we
will strive for pure thoughts and we will strive for our words and actions to
come from a place of love and purity.
So we may no longer be considered virgins after May 29th 2016, BUT we
will forever strive for purity.
I love you
Tyler. Thanks for loving me & respecting me & more importantly respecting
your future marriage by striving not only to be a virgin, but to be a man of
purity. That is the manliest quality I believe any man could ever possess. Self-control,
that comes from strength given by the Lord!
I am so
incredibly honored to be your wife in 281 days...but then again who's
counting!!
Xoxoxo,
Katelynn
(& Tyler)
"Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:8
"Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you
double-minded." James 4:7-8
