Shed that Shallow Skin
It's usually difficult for me to recount conferences or retreats that have really impacted my life without sounding preachy. I start off saying how a certain speaker really moved me and showed
me something new about myself and my God, and then find myself going into a point-by-point summary of their message. But the text on the screen cannot compare to the spirit of God working through a service. So with all of that said, I'll ... try my best not to do that. At least I won't use bullet points ...
This weekend, there was a youth conference that my church was asked to help with worship. The main focus of this one and a half day conference was the subject of Marriage and Purity. Going into this conference, I was not excited and not impressed. I felt that I had heard it all before (and I had), and was afraid that the speaker would be old and awkward, and the youth would be turned off by the promotion of what seems like an archaic lifestyle. My attention was focused outward for the majority of the conference: I watched the youth for their reactions, I watched the speaker (who was REALLY good) and admired her passion, I watched the other worship teams play. But all I did was just watch other people and never looked inward once. But on the last night of the retreat, God broke my heart.
Praise God, He knows me so much better than I know myself. Which is a relief because I know that at least somebody understands this confusing ball of crazy that I refer to as myself. Somebody understands and can help me understand as well. Anyway, this is what I learned.
Purity is a very funny thing. Not funny as in it's hilarious but it's very tricky. Those who have it shouldn't trade it for the world, while those who don't have it begin to hate purity because it's such a painful and shameful reminder of what they're missing out on. Therefore, those without purity try to recruit the pure into believing that the lives they are living are shallow and bland in comparison to the rich darkness of the impure. So now we live in a world where the lines are so blurred, the attitudes so backward that it seems impossible to reverse these tainted ideals. But what purity really stands for is not what you abstain from, or what you limit yourself with, or how little you know, or how little you've done. It's not the absence of darkness, but the presence of light as I've heard somewhere. Being pure is not about confining oneself to a convent (although there's nothing wrong with that..............i think) and praying long and hard that nothing from this dirty world will come in and stain your bleached clothing. Instead, it's about letting the goodness and fullness of life that only comes from Christ to flood every fiber of your being so that you can think of nothing but Him and what He stands for. You should be preoccupied with Jesus, not preoccupied with not sinning.
Phew that was a long splurge. I had to stop myself before the preaching started..unless it already did, in which case I hope you'd forgive me. But basically, what I'm trying to write is just a reminder for myself , and for anyone else who is struggling with trying to live up to an image that is impossible, or keeping up the pretense of purity for fear of rejection by the church. It's so much easier than that, and through it we experience the freedom of love.
What a relief!
me something new about myself and my God, and then find myself going into a point-by-point summary of their message. But the text on the screen cannot compare to the spirit of God working through a service. So with all of that said, I'll ... try my best not to do that. At least I won't use bullet points ...
This weekend, there was a youth conference that my church was asked to help with worship. The main focus of this one and a half day conference was the subject of Marriage and Purity. Going into this conference, I was not excited and not impressed. I felt that I had heard it all before (and I had), and was afraid that the speaker would be old and awkward, and the youth would be turned off by the promotion of what seems like an archaic lifestyle. My attention was focused outward for the majority of the conference: I watched the youth for their reactions, I watched the speaker (who was REALLY good) and admired her passion, I watched the other worship teams play. But all I did was just watch other people and never looked inward once. But on the last night of the retreat, God broke my heart.
Praise God, He knows me so much better than I know myself. Which is a relief because I know that at least somebody understands this confusing ball of crazy that I refer to as myself. Somebody understands and can help me understand as well. Anyway, this is what I learned.
Purity is a very funny thing. Not funny as in it's hilarious but it's very tricky. Those who have it shouldn't trade it for the world, while those who don't have it begin to hate purity because it's such a painful and shameful reminder of what they're missing out on. Therefore, those without purity try to recruit the pure into believing that the lives they are living are shallow and bland in comparison to the rich darkness of the impure. So now we live in a world where the lines are so blurred, the attitudes so backward that it seems impossible to reverse these tainted ideals. But what purity really stands for is not what you abstain from, or what you limit yourself with, or how little you know, or how little you've done. It's not the absence of darkness, but the presence of light as I've heard somewhere. Being pure is not about confining oneself to a convent (although there's nothing wrong with that..............i think) and praying long and hard that nothing from this dirty world will come in and stain your bleached clothing. Instead, it's about letting the goodness and fullness of life that only comes from Christ to flood every fiber of your being so that you can think of nothing but Him and what He stands for. You should be preoccupied with Jesus, not preoccupied with not sinning.
Phew that was a long splurge. I had to stop myself before the preaching started..unless it already did, in which case I hope you'd forgive me. But basically, what I'm trying to write is just a reminder for myself , and for anyone else who is struggling with trying to live up to an image that is impossible, or keeping up the pretense of purity for fear of rejection by the church. It's so much easier than that, and through it we experience the freedom of love.
What a relief!
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