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But the Wisdom that Comes from Heaven...

             But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)

Last week was a good but tough week, and the weekend involved trying to get things done that I didn’t have time to do during the week. I’m tired and quickly running out of time to write this. That may be part of why this passage - or just one word - is striking deep. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. Pure. Not mixed with stuff. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the books we read, the shows we watch, the people we think are friends, the authorities we obey are all polluted. We’re polluted by chemicals, our sins, and the sins of others. The idea of purity has been polluted because, more often than not, it’s limited to a sexual condition. I suspect that means that the idea isn’t even pure.

And heaven knows I’m not pure, either. I’m making a lap afghan for charity, but I don’t care about the person who will get it. It’s all about the making. For the past five weeks, I’ve attended a Sunday School class about finding your fit in Christ’s family. The information was interesting, and I think I need to spend about 90 hours considering it, but when the discussion turned to our acting on the information, my thoughts were contaminated by fear and distrust. What makes this particularly sad is that “Karen” is derived from Catherine, which means “Pure.”

But, the wisdom that comes from heaven is pure. I find myself drawn to this idea. It’s a treasure hunt that needs to happen. Rather than tell you, I’m going to just challenge you. Think for a few minutes about purity.

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