Purity

     I was literally delighted today to see on Facebook one of the girls featured in Mighty Strong Girls had her Christmas wish come true. 
     Genevieve Rogers received a purity ring for Christmas. I thank her that she is allowing me to share this with you! It's what she wanted and asked for, and on a quiet evening at home, her parents presented her with this gift. A gift that is so much in the spirit of God's gift to us — a baby in a manager. Both are simple like a good book in front of a fireplace on a cold night but will have everlasting consequences for generations to come. Both could be described as unexpected — a king in a manger and a teen girl desiring to save herself for her husband.
     She will share this most precious gift with her husband on their wedding night. 
     But purity, you see, goes even beyond that. It will be a gift to herself every time she turns her back on things the world places on a pedestal that she believes are ungodly — those images, movies, books and music that might contaminate her mind and her soul and damage her faith. 
     A girl who values purity will want to keep not only her body as a temple but also her mind and spirit. And all are connected just as we are learning that our physical health is inseparable from our spiritual, emotional and mental well-being.
     Genevieve will share this gift with her girlfriends as a testimony of strong faith. It can inspire others to make promises that are counter-culture. It will be her witness to boys, too, who recognize a worthy girl is one who cannot be bought but who must be sought. 
 
      Accompanying her ring was this poem: 

My Gift Wrapped Heart

My gift's a secret, hid beneath

this golden foil and bow. 

My Father wrapped it in His Love

for only one to know. 

My gift is very precious

and the wrapping's precious too; 

The one without the other

spoils the mystery and the clue. 

For though the pressure's strong

my God is with me from the start, 

and He'll be there with me when 

I give my love, My Gift Wrapped Heart. 

   

 

     Today I celebrate Genevieve for making this awesome decision. Please pray for her and for other girls who desire this commitment in their faith. What she is doing is not easy, and there will be many temptations. I pray that Genevieve and other girls will boldly follow their commitments and should any of them stumble, I pray they take hold of God's promise that purity isn't a one-time gift. It's not perfection. It's His promise of grace that makes purity possible not just for Genevieve but for all of us, no matter how far we've wandered from Christ. He makes all things new and covers the stains of our past — no matter how much we think are unable to be erased — with His blood making us brand new. Purity is a gift that came in a manager.