In a past blog, The Humility of Jesus, I identified great men as being separated from mediocre men by two virtues: Purity and Humility.
What is purity? Purity is a word, like the word love, that is vast in its usage but carries immense power. In the Catholic world, purity is too frequently tied to sexual purity and chastity. This is good, but it doesn’t capture the wholeness of the virtue. Purity is living from your relationship with God who speaks identity over you and letting that affect all the parts of your life: heart, intention, speech, thought, and sight. It is authenticity, spiritual single-mindedness, and whole-heartedness.
Hopefully, this way of seeing purity will help you to see why men who are pure distinguish themselves from those who aren’t. Bad representations in the secular world have obscured the definition of purity. There are not many public figures or celebrities who model purity well. Thank God for the gift of the Church and her many models and saints that show us what authentic purity lived out is like. Jesus as the spotless lamb of God is obviously the best and prime example of living pure.
Let’s dive more into that definition of purity and pull apart practical ways of becoming pure.
Purity is living from your relationship with God who speaks identity over you and letting that affect all the parts of your life: heart, intention, speech, thought, and sight.
Purity starts with a relationship with God. It was Him who made us out of dust. We have Him to thank for existence. Since His will and action are responsible for our existence, His presence and being should remain important throughout our whole lives. God did not simply make us like toy robots, winding us up and releasing us. No, God is intimately involved with our lives. Think about a coincidence in your life that happened recently. God is weaving His grace and effects into our lives today. He wants a relationship with us. Think of your wife, parents, or siblings. Our relationship with God is analogous to these relationships. We have to talk to Him, make time for Him, and receive love from Him.
Identity is one thing we receive from God. As the one who brought forth the Word, His words and thoughts are more powerful and important than anyone else’s. There might have been times when others have defined who you are through positive or negative nicknames or affirmations. God wants to renew that and speak a better ‘word’ to you. Remember, Jesus did not start His mission and ministry until God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).
Why is identity important? Identity is the very core of who we are. Our whole lives are built off the foundation of our identities. When storms and trials come, they will knock away a lot of earthly supports we may have set up. If you put your trust in money, relationships, or appearance, these can all go away with a financial crisis, an argument, or aging. Our God-given identity is not like that. It is a firm foundation that remains. When storms come, these worldly things may pass away, but our identity will not. You will still be a Son of God no matter what. Remember the parable of the firm foundation versus the sandy foundation. Rains and floods came and destroyed the house built on sand. We need to develop our understanding of our identity in God.
How do we grow in identity? We need to first be ready to receive from God since He is the one who gives identity. We cannot white-knuckle our identity out of nowhere or else it will fade away and be built on sand. Remember how Jesus heard His identity as a beloved Son from the Father? We, too, have to hear and receive it from God. We can read the Scriptures, meditate with the Baptism of Jesus with ourselves in the scene, or wait and listen for the Lord to speak to us in the silence of our hearts.
Here are some useful Scriptures about being a son of God. Read these over and over, knowing that they are from the Bible, full of power:
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14-17)
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1a)
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir. (Galatians 4:6-7)
In my life, I was well-catechized and knew that I was a son of God in my mind. I could answer that on every test in school or anytime someone asked what my identity was, but that did not come into reality until last fall. I came to a point of realization that I didn’t know what it was to be a son of God in my heart. I did not experientially know this fact. I have a great father, but that did not help me understand being a son of God. It took long times of prayer in the chapel, where I allowed God to speak to me. He used my imagination and showed me images of Him fathering a younger version of me. In these images, I saw God the Father teaching me to ride a bike taking me to the zoo, and enjoying ice cream cones with me. It was touching and the 12-inch drop from my head to my heart happened. I understood sonship better.
The fact with being a son comparatively to a servant or a bride is that these are more or less contractual; they can end or will end. God changed the game with the New Covenant when He made us sons of God. Being a Son is so intertwined in our DNA and very being. You can’t scrub yourself clean of being your father’s son. It is ingrained within you. How much more is it with God the Father! Jesus’ statement on Easter morning can’t be missed, “…Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17). The first thing He says to St. Mary Magdalene is that God the Father is our Father too now!
Once you know you are a son of God, it has to change the way you live. The world can’t change that. He has spoken identity to our hearts. The promises in Scripture are our promises and identity. This has to affect the purity of our hearts, intentions, speech, thought, and sight.
When it comes to purity of heart and intention, we can ask ourselves what our motivation for doing things is. Is it for our own gain or to love the other person? Jesus, our model of purity, puts this on display through the Great Commandment to love one another as He has loved us. If we have the love of God in our hearts, it changes how we act during the day. We need to set Him as the priority throughout our day.
Purity of speech will allow your words to carry power. It allows your message to be heard by all since it isn’t full of cursing or cussing. Our words have the power to bring life or death. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). The great saints of the Church carried their speech in a different way and it changed the world and culture. If we are upbuilding with our comments to others, it will make their days brighter and dispel darkness in the world. We are called, by Baptism, to be prophets in the world and speak the Word of God, which brings life to those dead to sin.
The purity of thought and sight is massive for men. How can we think about others charitably and dispel lustful thoughts from our minds? Well, what are you filling your mind with? What are your eyes looking at? If you are consuming pornography, inappropriate TV shows or moves, or profane music, it will change the way you think. The more Scripture, spiritual reading, and spiritual media you consume, the less temptations will enter your mind. We consume Jesus at Mass in the Eucharist. Let’s become what we eat and consume Him. With purity of sight, if God gives you a deep and personal identity, He also does for others! This should change the ways we judge or look at others.
Gentlemen, this general understanding of purity will change your life. Take time this week to ask God to call you His beloved son. Challenge yourself to grow in these five ways of purity every day. I have seen this renewal of the mind change my life, so I hope it does for you as well.
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