A few weeks ago Jake spoke at the Sabbath School at Ozark Academy. He spoke once before and did a fantastic job (if I do say so myself), and he was asked to speak again. The first was about the Armor of God. You can imagine great lessons and thoughts from that. But this last time, when I asked him what he was going to speak on, he said “purity.” “Hmmm, purity?” I asked. And I was thinking “that’s really a deep subject Jake!” I asked him why he chose that topic and he said he believed that was what his friends needed to hear! Okay!
He twisted it a little bit and talked on the power of purity… power we can have through Jesus’ purity. He asked his friends to take time and come up with someone in the Bible who did something great because they were connected with the purity of God.
A boy named Wyatt raised his hand. His thought was when David was looking at Bathsheba and lusting after her… Whoa! I thought! Wrong story! Not pure! Not pure! But, Wyatt went on to speak of Uriah. A brave and courageous warrior. A dedicated leader of his men. A mighty man!
David called him off the battlefield. Called him to leave the men he was responsible for. Called him home, in a scheme to be with his wife. She’d get pregnant, (she already was), and no one would know David had really messed up!
But this Uriah the Hittite was a man of honor. An ethical man. A principled man. He wasn’t having any of it! He said to David, “The ark, my master, and my men are in tents and open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
No special treatment for him. If his men couldn’t have the same luxury, it was “no thank you!” By adding “I will not do such a thing,” it makes me realize how totally and passionately he believed in the unity and good of the men who were fighting for their God and country.
Wyatt pointed out Uriah must have been connected to the purity of the Most High because he didn’t compromise his convictions of right. Interesting take on this ugly story! And one that had escaped me!
The definition of purity is freedom from contamination. Or freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, or pollutes.
The power of purity. How powerful do you feel? Sometimes I feel pretty puny.
One of my favorite short stories in the Bible is Elijah. He’s hiding in a cave. Scared. Feeling powerless. And the Lord asks him a question. Twice. The same question. Not once, but twice.
We’ve all said it as parents…those words….”don’t make me ask you twice!” Inferring that by asking the same thing twice, it has now become a big deal!
It’s a big deal! It’s meaningful, this question he asked Elijah. And it’s the same question he asks us today.
“What are you doing here?”
And he doesn’t want the answer to be “oh doing laundry and shopping at Walmart and going to work and oh I’m so tired…poor me!” He asks it twice to get to the heart of the matter.
“What are you doing here?”
“You’ve got all this power from my purity,” He says. “You have access to this power, but you’re still contaminating and polluting yourselves with things of this world.”
Purity! Like I first thought, it’s a deep subject! But, Jake’s friends aren’t the only ones who need to hear it. I need to hear it! And you need to hear it!
“What are we doing here?”
What are we wasting time with? Worried with? Contaminated with? Pride? Fear? Indifference? Lukewarm-ness? Like Uriah, may we be connected to Purity and say “I will not do such a thing!” By the grace of God, may we all desire to be pure, kind, and true.
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