How far is too far?

I find that to be a common question that teenage girls ask. It seems like a way to dabble in a little bit of "worldly fun" but still keep up the good christian girl act. Although, coming from a girl who is striving to do the right thing, it is also a plausible question to ask. I once asked that question myself, but I now see how trivial a question it really is. Instead of coming from a mindset of how far I could go without doing something wrong, I now face that challenge thinking: how pure can I stay?

1 Timothy 5:1a-2 (New International Version)
Treat younger men as brothers, ²older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Living a life of absolute purity is a hard thing. If you have ever read the book Do Hard Things you know that it focuses primarily on doing hard things and throwing off low expectations. I truly believe that living with absolute purity is one of the hardest things you can do and one of those things that totally stands out. People find out you don't have a boyfriend and they flip out. How do you live? Your life must be so boring... on and on.

I don't think that it is wrong to have a boyfriend, but I do think there is a proper time for that.
If you are one of those people who has a boyfriend, one of the best questions to ask yourself when you are in a possibly compromising situation is: Would I do this if my dad was sitting here?

That is a great question for me to ask myself. I mean, really, what girl is going to be all over her boyfriend when her dad is standing there. Um, NOT ME! How awkward is that?

But here's the deal: He is.

Your Heavenly Father is everywhere. That includes the back of your boyfriend's truck. And the movie theater. And your bedroom.

2 Timothy 2:20-22 (New International Version)

²⁰In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. ²¹If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²²Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Our best bet to absolute purity is to cleanse ourselves of all ignoble things that are not useful to the Lord. Once we have accomplished that, we will then be able to be used by God. Another thing that I find helpful to maintain purity is to try not to think about guys a lot. When you think "Ohh that guy was really cute!" and you start to dwell on what it would be like to hold his hand, or hug him, then a lot of the time those things actually happen. We have the desire, the desire evolves into sin, and that sin leads to death. (James 1:14-15)

Be self-controlled and pure. (Titus 2:5) Pursue the things of the Lord! Although sometimes it may seems like you are the only one who lives a pure life, you aren't alone! Live a life of absolute purity, that honors the Lord, and your brothers in Christ.

Your Sister in Christ,

Jessica