Purity Helps Us See Jesus Clearly

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one drive at a time.

Welcome to a new podcast season! We’re gonna explore a really important topic: purity. 

Do you know what the word “pure” means? It means clean. For instance, “pure white” is white that has no hint of another color, or dirt, or anything else in it.

For a Christian, purity is about having a clean heart that loves what is right and good. And let me say this, right from the start: purity isn’t about being perfect. In fact, purity isn’t something we do at all. It’s something God creates in us.

Over the next few weeks, you’re going to spend a lot of time in Psalm 51, verse 10. The first part of it says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”

Today, Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel are heading out on an adventure to the crystal-clear waters of Belize. What they see there will help us understand what it means to have a heart that’s truly pure.

This season we’re taking “A Deep Dive into Purity,” and in this episode we’re going to learn that “Purity Helps Us See Jesus Clearly.”

Here’s Suzy.

Suzy Weibel: Dannah, how many planes are we taking today?

Dannah Gresh: (Laughing) I don’t know! I’ve lost count. Three? Four?

Suzy: Because I just need to say . . . they keep getting smaller. Like, each plane is a downgrade. This one feels like a flying tin can!

Dannah: It does have . . . character. 

Suzy: Character? I can see every single bolt in this thing. I feel like if I reach out, I could tighten one.

I’m just saying, maybe we should’ve been like those other tourists. You know, the ones who stayed safely on the mainland of Belize.

Dannah: Oh no, Suze. You are not missing what I have planned. We’re heading to Ambergris Caye.

Suzy: Okay, wait. Say that again.

Dannah: Ambergris Caye.

Suzy: Amber . . . 

Dannah: . . gris Caye. Spelled C-A-Y-E. It’s basically a tiny island made of sand and coral. 

Suzy: So, we left solid ground to go to a smaller piece of . . . sand?

Dannah: Exactly!

Suzy: Great. Love that for us.

Okay, but listen, I know you’re a fanatic snorkeler, Dannah. But the water down there? It’s beautiful! Like, I’ve never seen blue like that before. I mean, honestly, the water is fine right here on the coast.

Dannah: Um, Suzy, look down again.

Suzy: I am looking . . . wait . . . what?!

Dannah: Do you see it?

Suzy: It’s, it’s not even blue anymore. It’s completely . . . clear!

Dannah: Yes! You can actually see through it!

Suzy: Is that seaweed over there?

Dannah: It is. A patch of seaweed! And look, you can even see its movement in the water.

Suzy: That is wild! I mean . . . We are WAY up here. Well, not actually WAY up here. Have I mentioned how small this plane is?

Dannah: More than once!

(Giggles) Oh! Oh! Look over there!

Suzy: What? Where?

Dannah: That group right there!

Suzy: No way! Are those . . .

Dannah: . . .stingrays!

Suzy: A whole bunch of them . . . otherwise known as a fever—little trivia fact for you, Dannah!

Dannah: A fever?

Suzy: Yes, because when they all get together there’s a frenzy of activity—a fever!

Dannah: Well, I just learned something new!

Suzy: Wow! We can actually see stingrays from this high up?

Dannah: Isn’t that incredible?

Suzy: What on earth will we see when we put that snorkel gear on and get our heads under that water?

Dannah: More than you can imagine! Ambergris Caye is right next to the Belize Barrier Reef—one of the largest reefs in the world. The water here is so clear, you can sometimes see over one hundred feet down.

Suzy: Wow!

Dannah: Prepare to be amazed! Coral gardens, stingrays, sea turtles—even nurse sharks. It’s like looking through glass.

Suzy: Okay, now I get why we didn’t stay on the mainland.

Dannah: Yup! This water is pure. There’s very little to block your view. You’re about to have the best snorkel experience of your life!

Suzy: (Thoughtful) The purity of the water lets you see clearly.

Huh! That kinda makes me think about something. Let me grab my Bible here in my back pack.

(Sound ofbackpack unzipping and rifling around)

Well, look! There’s my sunglasses that I definitely thought I lost . . . and some peanut butter crackers. Yum! Those are for later.

And there it is . . . my travel Bible.

Let’s see, I think in 1 John there’s something about seeing Jesus clearly, and . . . purity.

Dannah: Oh, yes! It’s 1 John 3:2–3. It’s one of my favorite passages. God used those verses to help me once. They’re very special to me. I was a little confused about purity.

Suzy: I want to hear about that, but first, let me read these verses.

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

Dannah: Yes! I love those words.

Suzy: Let’s think about them. So, in simple terms, if you belong to Jesus, you’re already God’s child—but He’s still changing you, making you more like Him. And one day, we’ll be able to see Jesus clearly and really be like Him, because we will be pure like He is.

Dannah: Yes, love those words.

Suzy: And it’s just like the water down there. We can see clearly . . .

Dannah: . . . because it’s pure!

Suzy: Right!

Dannah: The word “purity” in terms of water is really easy to understand.

Suzy: I’d rather snorkel in pure water—especially now that I see it.

Dannah: And I’d certainly rather drink a bottle of clear, pure water than a cup of muddy water.

Suzy: True fact!

Dannah: But when it comes to understanding what the word purity means to us in our Christian life, it can be a little bit challenging to understand. It can be confusing. It was for me.

Suzy: Okay, tell me. 

Dannah: Well, the word “purity” makes us think of perfection. That’s great when it comes to a bottle of water or snorkeling spots.

But when we talk about Christian purity, we end up thinking that we have to achieve perfection!

Suzy: Meaning, we’d never sin!

Dannah: Yeah. It’s easy to think that to be pure, we can never have or have had impure behavior—like cheating on a test or lying, for example. Or I guess it would be fair to even say that we think we have to never have seen anything impure to be pure. 

Suzy: Like bad words or videos on the internet?

Dannah: Like that, yeah.

Suzy: Here’s the problem.

Who among us is perfect? Not me! 

Dannah: Me either!

I sin pretty much every day. And sometimes see or hear things that aren’t pure even when I’m trying not to.

Suzy: Ditto!

Dannah: Well anyway. Here’s what I’m trying to say: I was once confused. I felt impure because I sin. But at the same time, I really wanted to be pure.

Suzy: That does sound conflicting.

Dannah: It was. But then, one day I was reading my Bible, and 1 John 3 just kind of stopped me in my tracks and opped off the page at me!

It was like God was gently showing me, “Dannah, you don’t have to try harder to be pure all on your own.”

I realized purity isn’t something we earn by being really good or thinking always good thoughts. It’s something God gives us as He makes us more like Jesus.

And that let me stop trying so hard. Stop working for purity.

Suzy: Let me play the devil’s advocate here: That could and has convinced some people to live carelessly, following any passion or desire that they have because . . . well, they think, Jesus is going to fix this.

Dannah: True. 

But here’s what 1 John 3 also taught my heart—we should LONG to be pure. When I read those verses, It was like God was also affirming, “Dannah, it’s also really good towant to be pure even though you cannot do it on your own.”

Suzy: That must have felt better.

Dannah: Much. Because I realized the reason I want to be pure is because Jesus is pure and a Christian always wants to be more like Him. And the reasons we want that is so we can see Him more clearly!

Suzy: Cue the sting rays in the pure water!

Dannah: Exactly.

Maybe that’s why I like snorkeling so much. The pure water lets me see everything God made clearly. And my testimony is that the more I’ve allowed God to purify my heart and mind, the more I do see Jesus more clearly.

With every sin I confess, I can trust the forgiveness and cleansing of Jesus. I know I am clean because of what Jesus has done. And I understand Jesus and His Truth more easily when that happens!

Suzy: Beautiful!

Dannah: Yeah, but also, I look back and I can see that there were times it was hard for me to see Jesus because my sin made my vision cloudy.

It was like snorkeling in the murky brown water off the New Jersey coast! Have you ever noticed how gross that water is?

Suzy: Yeah, you’d stick your face in that water be like, “Am I snorkelin’ or did I just dunk my head in iced coffee?”

Dannah: Exactly! You can’t see clearly when the view is obstructed by impurity.

Suzy:  Speaking of seeing clearly, Dannah, what is all that action in the water over there by those boats?

Dannah: Oh, that’s Shark Ray Alley. We’re going there tomorrow.

Suzy: I’m sorry . . . shark ray what?

Dannah: Shark Ray Alley. Yeah, we’re going to swim in that.

Suzy: And what exactly is that?

Dannah: Sharks and rays.

Suzy: (Sarcastically) Oh.

Cool. Cool, cool, cool. So just a casual swim . . . in a shark party!?

Dannah: That’s the plan!

Suzy: Ya know, I think I’ll just go ahead and keep all my limbs in the boat tomorrow, if you don’t mind. 

Dannah: Oh, trust me. You’re going to want to get in there. And I’m going to do everything between now and then to convince you of it.

In the meantime, hand me one of those peanut butter crackers!

Suzy: Sure thing.

(unwrapping)

Hey that reminds me of a good joke: 

Why did the peanut butter cracker take a vacation?

Because it was feeling spread too thin. (Giggle)

Claire: So, purity isn’t something you make yourself by trying harder. It’ something God creates in you. When you don’t feel pure, you can pray like the writer of Psalm 51, verse 10: “Create in me a clean (or pure) heart, O God.”

This is a complex but important topic. That’s why Dannah Gresh has been teaching about purity for a really long time. 

I think it’s worth mentioning that she just re-released a book called And the Bride Wore White. It’s written for teen girls—so maybe your older sister. It shares seven truths that help a girl live in purity. 

It helps you understand God’s design for your heart, your mind, and your body—and how Jesus brings real freedom, no matter your past. Your mom can find that book, along with other resources for tween and teen girls, at MyTrueGirl.com.

And what are those other resources? One of them is the True Girl subscription box! When you sign up for that, we’ll ship daily devos, mom-daughter dates, and a whole box of discipleship tools to you every sixty days. Check it out. Again, that’s at MyTrueGirl.com.

Hey, be sure to come back next time to see if Dannah convinces Suzy to get in the water with the sharks! You’ll also learn why it’s so important to understand and pursue purity in your life.

The True Girl podcast is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.