An Unexpected Reflection

Last night, I was skimming the channels and I stumbled upon a talk show where a young girl was telling the host that she was going to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. When I heard this, I was immediately outraged. I thought to myself, "How can this beautiful girl, created in the image of a holy God, find herself so cheap that she is willing to sell something as valuable as her purity?" This righteous anger and hatred toward this sin continued to build up within me and my heart broke for this young girl. As I prayed for this girl, my thoughts shifted to myself. The more I thought about the situation, the more I saw myself as this girl. How often is it that I don't recognize my true identity - a Child of God? How often do I 'sell myself' to the Enemy in exchange for the promise of temporal pleasures instead of pursuing my purity as invaluable? It makes me think of the song "Wedding Dress" by Derek Webb, where he describes himself as a whore who puts on the bridal gown and flees from her Perfect Groom, Jesus. It is my earnest desire to learn to hate my sin as much as the Lord does. The more I hate my sin, the more I pursue holiness. The more I pursue holiness, the further I get from my flesh. The further I get from my flesh, the closer I get to Jesus. The closer I get to Jesus, the more I treasure Him. The more I treasure Him, the more my life displays Him. The more my life displays Him, the greater impact my life has for Him. The greater impact my life has for Him, the greater my heavenly reward. The greater my heavenly reward, the more crowns I get to lay down at His feet in total worship. Oh, what joy lies ahead!
Grace and Peace. λύτρον