Torch, Summer 1995

T his summer, over 20 adults from our church backpacked for a week in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado. We began by hiking about five miles and ascending over 2,500 feet in elevation from the trail head. Music Pass, at 11,700 feet, is the entrance to the Sand Creek Valley. During our steep descent into the lush, green valley, we noticed the roar of the Sand Creek becoming increasingly louder. For several days, we camped next to the stream, which was our only source of water. While the water looked incredibly clean, my training and personal experience had taught me that drinking straight from the stream is a gamble. One can't tell just by looking at it whether it's pure. 6 Torch Small microorganisms called giardia have been detected in wilderness waters throughout Colorado. When ingested, small amounts of giardia can be very unkind to a person's digestive system, making life quite unpleasant. We did, however, use the water all week to quench our thirst and to prepare our meals. We were able to do so with confidence for one reason: we were careful to purify the water with small purifiers before we used it. The process of purifying all our water for the week reminded me of some key biblical principles regarding personal purity, which is just as critical an issue for our spiritual life as water is for our physical life. Jesus' death on the cross signified our need for cleansing, as His sacrifice was "to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2: 14). Jesus summarized the importance and place of purity when He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). But like the waters of Sand Creek, purity of heart goes much deeper than what is seen. If the Sand Creek had been a stagnant, discolored pond, or if it had can-ied garbage and debris in its cun-ents, I would never have considered drinking it. The impurity would be obvious. In our spiritual lives, we also must look deeper than the surface to assess for purity of our hearts. As a pure-looking stream does not guarantee its purity, so overt actions don't necessarily indicate true purity of the heart.