Who am I?  I am a child of God, the most pure and holy Being there ever was and ever will be, and who happens to be the very definition of purity.  And so are you. As our spiritual Father and Creator, does not God have the right to expect, even demand, purity in our lives?  Of course!

What is purity?  Think of a white blanket of snow covering your front yard, untainted by dirt or footprints or snowmen.  Clean, undisturbed, peaceful.  It is the beauty of a bride in a beautiful white dress.  But when you come to your wedding day, can you wear a white dress and have it truly represent your heart, or will it just be a color you wear to hide what you don’t want others to see?

So what’s the big deal about purity?  Plenty!  Why did God go to so much effort to keep the Israelites as His nation?  Why was it such a big deal when they went chasing after other gods and idols?  Why did He not want them to intermarry with the heathen nations?  Why did He punish them time and again when they strayed from His commands? 

Simply put, God is a jealous God, and He wants us to be His people.  “You shall have no other gods before me…” (Exo. 20:3-4, NIV)  Back to the wedding analogy, we, the church of God, are the bride, and Jesus is the bridegroom.  Just as every girl who stands at the altar wants to be the most beautiful bride there ever was, so also we should be the most beautiful, holy, pure church we can be.  Just as every guy wants to stand tall and proud, accepting his beautiful bride to care for and love her, so also we should be like Jesus.

Has the beauty of marriage and the wedding ceremony totally lost its meaning for us?  Our parents used to worry about us going to all-night drinking and drug parties.  Now, middle and high school students have sex parties, where they think it’s fun to just have casual sex with someone they might not even know.  But, hey, we’re just having some good times!  No big deal.  Right? (Hopefully this isn’t becoming the “in” thing at your school.  If it’s not, it’s coming soon.  What will you do about it, then?)

Ever just wonder why your church or your parents make such a big deal about the subject of sex?  Are they just trying to spoil your fun?  C’mon, you’ve all heard the scare tactics.  STD’s and AIDS are lots of fun to have, aren’t they?  But you’re invincible; it won’t affect you, right?  Right?  Keep questioning! 

It’s not just about the physical consequences; it goes much deeper than that.  What does God say? “Flee from sexual immorality.  All other sins a man commits are outside his body but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” (I Cor. 6:18, NIV)  God holds special significance for your sexuality, because He set it apart from all other sins.  That means you had better take it seriously!  He goes on to say, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.” (I Cor. 6:19-20, NIV) 

God expects purity in you, and His message has not changed.  Purity is not limited to your sexuality.  But if you get it right in this area, purity in other areas becomes a whole lot easier.  Are you questioning why God makes such a big deal out of it?  Good!  You should be.  Don’t stop questioning and studying until you find the answer from Him.  It won’t help you any to make up your own answer. 

Our culture also wants you to believe that if you decide it works for you, then it’s okay. 

But then, popular culture also wants you to believe that you evolved from monkeys, or from a single amoeba.  Who you gonna believe, the God of the universe who cannot lie, or a culture that comes up with stories like that? 

God wants you to LIVE PURE.  So do we. 

- Kurt Lang, National Youth Director