“…Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, instead of giving heed to Jewish myths or to commands of men who reject the truth. To the pure all things are pure (Πάντα καθαρὰ τοῖς καθαροῖς), but to the corrupt/defiled (μεμιαμμένοις) and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted/defiled (μεμίανται).” (Titus 1: 13b – 15)
God did not create anything “impure” or “unclean.” We did slip away from our God-given, natural “purity” and introduced “impurity,” by choosing to believe a promise of distorted “godliness,” outside of God (Gen 3: 5-6). But when we turn away from false promises and embrace Truth, “putting on” Christ in Holy Baptism, we are given to participate in His purity, the new-and-improved purity of the New Adam. In Christ, to Whom we surrender our hearts, we are restored – in body, soul, and mind, – as “new creation.” It is through “sound faith,” in the true God, that we once again become pure, as we were created in the first place. Our new life, in His Spirit, also empowers us to receive and perceive “all things” in God’s created world as they are in His eyes, and that is, pure.
So let me re-connect with God this morning in some heartfelt prayer. And let me receive “all things,” be it food or drink, or the people and places and things that surround me, in His light, – with gratitude, patience, humility and good cheer. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” in all things!
