With most of the world’s rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans
too polluted to safely drink from without purification, we looked at one that
was 98% pure. I could not imagine being as pure as water.
While on vacation, my wife and I visited Forbidden Caverns
near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. As we descended more than three hundred feet to
the lowest point of our tour, we saw flowing water. A river that came from
somewhere high above and snaked through cracks and openings in the cavern to
flow into the bowels of the earth.
Looking at the water, I could tell it was different.
Moonshiners and Native Americans once used it to ply their trade and survive in
the wild. And without harm. Our guide told us why. The water was 98% pure. One
could drink it without risk of harm—no need for filtration.
God’s purity, however, is greater than the cavern water.
Throughout all sixty-six books of the Bible, God is proclaimed as pure—100
percent. Pagan gods were untrustworthy and not always after the best interests
of their followers, but the God of Israel was different. Not an iota of evil is
attached to his character. He expects His followers to adhere to the same code
of conduct. Trouble is, I’m not pure. Nor can I be by my own power.
Polluted water can be made drinkable by filtration. While
hiking and backpacking, I’ve drunk from many questionable water sources, but I
protected myself by filtering the water. When it comes to my nature, I can’t do
anything to make it pure. I can try turning over new leaves—and I may do well
temporarily--but I can’t make myself good permanently. Bad attitudes, foul
language, greedy thoughts, and lustful looking will creep in.
God must have known He was requiring something we weren’t
capable of since he sent his pure Son to do for humanity what we couldn’t do
for ourselves. When we accept what Christ did on Calvary’s cross, we’re given
his righteousness, his purity. God considers our sin debt paid, not because we
paid it, but because his Son paid it for us. God has filtered us by the blood
of Christ and made us 100 percent pure.
Don’t try to be good so God will accept you. Instead, accept
God and let him change your nature.
Father, I thank you for doing for me what I could never do for myself.
I invite you to try my book Mastering English Grammar Basics. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
