Pursuing Spiritual Purity

Pursuing Spiritual Purity

by Brian Waple

We’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost 18 years, and during that time I’ve noticed how popular tattoos have become among both Christians and non-Christians. Now, I don’t have any tattoos, nor do I hold any views against people who do. My dad did, but being a gunner’s mate in the Coast Guard in the late 1940s, I guess it was considered kind of a rite of passage. For me, I’ve never felt the need for a tattoo.

So, what does all of this tattoo talk have to do with pursuing spiritual purity? Well, there was a brief moment when I flirted with the idea of getting a tattoo. And it’s what I wanted to get (and why) that is more to the point of this blog post. More about that later.

Listening to Pastor Steve talk about pursuing spiritual purity this past Sunday made me realize just how much my mind gets drawn away from reflecting on God and is instead frequently mired in the mundane, the less lofty, things that are more worldly. I’m not necessarily talking about impure thoughts—just thoughts that don’t include God and distract me from being present to Him and what He’s doing. I notice it primarily during my quiet time, but I struggle with it often at other times. I find I become captive to whatever is drawing me in that moment.

I just finished re-reading Brennan Manning’s book The Furious Longing of God. In it, he describes a scene with Jesus and the apostles (Luke 11:1-4), which characterized Jesus’s remarkable, ongoing connection with His Father . . . His Abba . . . our Abba. Manning goes on to talk about how reflecting daily on Abba has been so crucial in his own walk and how that connection has been beneficial to those with whom he’s come in contact, of which there have been many. At the end of this particular section, he shares a practice that helps him stay focused on his Abba:

“Prayerfully consider taking a few moments every day . . . closing your eyes, upturning your palms, and praying, ‘Abba, I belong to You.’” (page 58)

I have tried using this prayer during my quiet times, especially when I’ve felt my mind wandering, and I’ve found that it keeps me focused and present to God.

So, how do we stay focused? How do we remain attentive to our Abba so as to be pursuing spiritual purity in our Christian walk? Sometimes we need a daily practice like the Abba prayer above. Or we may need a visual to remind us of what we should be reflecting on to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. I am more of a visual person.

Back to the tattoo. The tattoo I was considering would have been simply “Phil 4:8-9.” Those verses are a reminder to me of one way I can go about staying focused:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

What about you? How are you pursuing spiritual purity? Perhaps asking the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected to God and remember this verse (or others) is a good option for you—and a lot less painful than a tattoo!

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