Today’s readings:
Revelation 14:1-5
Psalm 24:1-6
All Christians are called to live pure. This goes beyond chastity, which is preserving oneself from immoral sexual conduct. Purity involves all aspects of the life of a Christian. What are the aspects of living pure?
First, those who live pure are those who “are virgins” (Rev 14:4b). This is a metaphor for those who do not indulge in idolatry, which in the Old Testament is considered adultery and fornication. They are those who do not worship the idols of modernism, materialism, consumerism, secular hedonism, cultural Marxism, contraceptive imperialism, and all the other isms that are contrary to the worship of the one true God. They love God alone.
Second, “on their lips no deceit has been found” (Rev 14:5a). They do not lie. They do not malign or slander. They do not gossip. Satan is the father of lies, and it is his children who do these things. God’s children on the other hand practice purity in speech.
Third, he who lives pure is one “who has not given his soul to useless things, what is vain.” (Ps 24:4b). His priorities are not worldly. His agenda is not secularist. We does not waste his earthly resources on things that are of no real eternal value. He is not vain.
Fourth, they “are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” (Rev 14:4c). They are authentic disciples. They are obedient to God. Their lives have been turned over to Jesus. They live in the ways of the Holy Spirit. They are focused in their love for God and in serving Him. “Such is the generation that seeks him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.” (Ps 24:6).
Purity is key to making it to heaven, to be with the Lord forever. “Who may go up the mountain of the Lord? Who can stand in his holy place? The clean of hand and pure of heart” (Ps 24:3-4a). They are those who “are unblemished.” (Rev 14:5b). Making it to heaven is the ultimate blessing and the manifestation of what God owes to His beloved children. “He will receive blessings from the Lord, and justice from his saving God.” (Ps 24:5).
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