Passion & Purity by Elisabeth Elliot
Most people call it love, but if there is no defined relationship, and just a strong liking and intense desire, it has a name - passion.
I have not found a topic widely discussed and fully intriguing, fascinating, luring [words fail me], like sexuality.
Regardless of background, age, race, language - name it, people talk.
Some individuals and companies have taken it a notch higher. It is found in their messaging, choice of words, visuals and adverts.
We see it everyday and we've probably heard about how we can easily trade our sexuality for what we want. But is that all there is to life?
On many TV shows and product adverts, we see the use of the human body as a lure into getting excited about buying or and consuming the product being advertised.
So the target market is caught up in discussing everything that concerns the details of the commercial but the product itself. They know something that we are taking lightly - that human beings are visual beings.
The commercial will be appealing to the eyes, we shall talk endlessly about it, and then subconsciously buy the product.
Aaah! Enough about my introduction [scratch that], enough about my ranting. Now, a close look into this phenomenal piece of prose.
Elisabeth Elliot was a Christian missionary, author, and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca people of eastern Ecuador. She later spent two years as a missionary to the tribe members who killed her husband.
She met Jim Elliot while they were still in college. Jim was attracted to Elisabeth but did not mention it until a few interactions later with her.
During a walk together with Elisabeth, Jim confessed his love for her. Excited as she was because the feeling was mutual, Jim also emphasized that he wasn't certain that God was calling him to marriage at that time. This is because he was working as a missionary, and was soon going to Ecuador.
Jim Elliot goes on for mission work and keeps on writing to Elisabeth about the communities they are reaching out to, what he is learning about God and expressing his feelings towards her.
In one of their conversations, Jim says, "If ever God calls me to marriage, I know whom I want to marry for I have met her."
Do you ever look at someone or spend time with them and suddenly the atmosphere feels different. More like tingles and butterflies in your stomach?
Or for some reason you cannot get them off your mind?
The Elliot's were not any different. Elisabeth describes Jim's muscles and how they made her heart race [wondering if anyone else noticed]
Now........
Passions exist and they are valid, but we don't have to act upon them. We are called to act upon them only within the right confines, and as a Christian, that is marriage [between 1 man and 1 woman].
The problem is not the feeling towards someone or the passion brewing within. It is what you do about those feelings that either leads to purity or to sin.
"By trying to find fulfillment everywhere, we find it nowhere"
Where do we draw our identity?
How then, do we as christians, not oblivious of our own passions, live in purity at such at time as this? In a generation like ours?
Passion and purity is a book from Elisabeth Elliot's personal love experience with Jim Elliot. A story about how as christians, we ought to bring our longings and emotions under the control of Christ and Biblical principles. How we ought to continuously submit ourselves and our passions to Christ. For He knows what to do with them. We just need to surrender and trust Him.
She shares from many aspects but here are some that stood out for me without unpacking the entire story - for those interested in reading the book.
1. The "list"
One of the things she highlights in her interactions with a young girl, is the "list" The preferences we hold on to and the choices we make in regards to who we would want to marry.
And so if he's not tall, dark & handsome, we think they are from Mars. But does it matter? What do we want more than anything in life? God's choice or our own?
Until the will and our affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not began to understand, let alone accept, His Lordship. This includes appearances and expectations of perfection from a potential spouse.
"For christians, our conduct must be governed not by findings of sociologists, biologists or anthropologists, interesting as those may be, but by God's wisdom."
2. Should I?
Elisabeth also highlights the famous question of "how far is too far?" And as she cautiously unveils her thoughts, you realize that the moment you start to ask where to draw the line, chances are, the lines have already been crossed.
The hard truth being, there are no lines to draw because the standard of God is clear. The lines have already been drawn. There are no more lines to draw. It's black or white - there are no grey areas.
The other aspect of this is; Who does the pursuing? You must be shocked...right? Because it seems obvious.
She possess the same question to a group of young men and all of them agree that they prefer to do the pursuing.
There are many questions around should I tell him how I feel? Doesn't he deserve to know? What if he has not said anything yet, shouldn't I lead him on?
Very slippery slope I tell you. The men like to do the chasing, the hunting and the pursuing.
3. On waiting
She gives an analogy of a bicycle given for free and one bought after 2-3 years of delivering newspapers. One has been given for free [probably without asking for it, and another was worked for]
There is a mystery to wrapped gifts. For example Christmas where gifts are wrapped and can only be opened after, there is joy in reserving some things up to a certain time. There is also pleasure in doing things in the right order when it comes to relationships.
I will continue to ask you and myself a question that Elisabeth Elliot asks in this breathtaking piece,
"Do I want to walk, here in all areas of my life, by faith, or will I take things into my own hands?"
4. At the right time
Jim Elliot confessed his love for Elisabeth and only asked her to be his wife 5 years later.
Waiting can be a thorn, but it is also a blessing in disguise. It carries along building of character and clarity of prayers.
At the right time, God brought them back together. God made it happen. He is never late, but always on time.
I would also like to add that the right time is God's timing.
What we can do is pray about our passions, holding every thought captive and making it obedient to the Creator of our passions - one who is able to keep us pure.
