What if I Already Messed Up? {Part One}

By Guest Writer, Jordan Elizabeth

Art from resuableart.com

If there is one thing that is easy to do, it is to mess up. It is also easy to get discouraged when we have made mistakes or sinned willfully. When we mess up, that is, when we don’t live up to our expectations or someone else’s desires, we tend to lose heart. When we genuinely are sorry for actions and thoughts we have had, it is difficult to move past the hurt that occurs.

For godly sorrow worketh re­pentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. II Corinthi­ans 7:10

Purity is a by-word today in the Christian culture, and rightly so. But what makes purity im­portant? Why is it so hard to achieve? And what do you do when it’s ‘too late’ for you? As God’s people, we love what He loves and desire what He desires. He places high emphasis on purity.

We need to have purity in our actions, in our motives, and in our thoughts. Purity of doctrine, purity of heart, purity in worship; all these things must be true and pure and untainted by sin. In more recent times however, purity is primar­ily understood in context of physical and emotional purity in relationships between men and women.

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints. Ephesians 5:3

But…

In older, more Christian times, women were valued deeply because people understood that God had made them to be a crown of glory for their husbands and fathers. The purity, or virtue, of a maiden was cause enough for a war, it was important enough to lay down your life to defend it. Even the ancient and pagan Romans placed great importance on physical purity for their women, but not always did they have a Biblical solution to the problem. With the Hebrews, God placed women in families to be protected and loved by men because they were valued, we were important and were fulfilling our own calling.

In many countries, baby girls are aborted or left to die. The importance of protecting girls from evil is lost; even in America, so many find themselves fending for themselves in a lost environment.

What is the outcome? Girls are devoid of protection and lose their purity; they have something taken from them that cannot be replaced, and they lose it to a lie. Young men are robbed of purity- the enemy of our souls desires to destroy purity in the world and he wants to destroy the people of God as well.

In any case, God’s people have taken a stand for it now in our day and age as they did in time past. We know that it is important to save our bodies and our love for the person we marry so that we can be a true picture of Christ and His Church.

Countless couples have come together in godliness and purity to honor God in their relationships. Count­less small groups have been started, conferences have been held, and books written on this topic. We know what is right to do.

But…

Yes, there are Christian girls who have already ‘messed up’, or who have gone willingly down the wrong path leading toward sin and are now sorry. What do we say to our sister who has given away her purity, who no longer measures up to the standard we have set? What do we say if we are that sister?

Is hope left for someone who has made a big mistake?

{To Be Continued Tomorrow . . .}

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Miss Jordan Elizabeth writes for her blog, Fly FAR {For All Righteousness}