The Alphabet of Christmas: P is for "pure"

Image via One Year Bible Blog

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (I Peter 1:17-19, NKJV)

Pure - without spot or blemish, without taint or corruption, without any flaw or imperfection. The Bible asks:

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
         Or who may stand in His holy place?
 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
         Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
         Nor sworn deceitfully.
 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
         And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Who can attain this level of perfection and righteousness before God? Who can possibly stand before God and rightly claim that they have lived a life of such purity that they've earned Heaven?

No one. Not a single person who has lived on this sad old earth - with one Exception.

Only Jesus lived every second of every day from the moment of His birth in complete and loving obedience to His Father in Heaven. Only Jesus earned the right to go to Heaven - and He offers it freely to all who come to Him in faith and love.

I could have used other words for the letter "P" - passion, power, peace - but none of them really worked. When we think of passion, we think of sex or anger or a deep desire. All these have a similarity to the passion God has for us - but passion as we know it cannot come close to the pure passion God has to seek and save His lost children. When we think of power, we think of might or authority or energy - yet power as we understand it cannot match the pure power of the holy omnipotence of God, who directs and weaves history to conform to His plan. When we think of peace, we think of quiet and tranquility and security - but peace as we experience it has little to do with the pure peace that God gives through His Spirit when we lay down our arms and stop fighting Him.

Only the pure and spotless Lamb, the perfect God-Man, the Holy One incarnate had this blindingly perfect holy purity. His birth in Bethlehem so many centuries ago was a silent explosion of pure love whose effects are felt throughout the world and trough all the ages.

Holy Child - blessed and pure Child - You are unmatched in all Creation in Your holiness and perfection. Be born in us, I pray, and let us follow Your Spirit in joyful obedience. Let us live our lives in gratitude and worship to the Holy God, the Pure God, who loved us and gave Himself to us!

“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”

(Revelation 15:3b-4, NKJV)

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