Blameless and Pure

Can a parked car avoid the yellow film of pollen as it seemingly descends from all creation upon all creation? Or can the west-facing screens of the sanctuary fail to catch floating dandelion spores as they seek their next garden? No, they can’t. It is almost as though they were designed for exactly that purpose.

And so, we may fairly ask, “Can a human person living in this dirty world stay pure?” Can we breath polluted air and not feel the effects in our lungs? Can we drink contaminated water and not retain the poisons in our system? Can we be surrounded by moral decline, and remain untouched?

But slow down. We have begun to confuse categories. You are not a polished surface, nor a wire mesh. The material parts of our bodies are not to be confused with our rational and spiritual capabilities. You are a human person, created in the image of God, designed to reflect His glory as we duplicate His character in finite ways.

And so, yes, you may breathe in pollen and suffer the affects of allergies. But you can also avert your eyes from that which would be tempting or compromising. You can turn your thoughts from an offense to a song of praise and thankfulness. You can bow your knee and confess your sin and chart a new course for the moments ahead. We are not stationary objects, nor victims. We are trained and capable disciples of Jesus who follow our hearts – those hearts that we devote to Jesus each morning, and as many times during the day as needed.

So stop with the whining and excuses. You are not an oil filter. You, by faith in Jesus, are a child of God, with His Word in your hand, and His Spirit in your heart, and you need not “let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts.”

The Old Testament saint named Job was not afflicted as a punishment for sin, but was tested, even as an upright man. He was able to say, “I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.” Daniel, again, not as punishment for sin, but due to persecution, was able to say from the lion’s den: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” May we, blameless and pure, be able to say the same.