As a little girl in the mid-sixties, one of my favorite things was collecting and trading marbles with my friends. Marbles were the most beautiful objects to me. I loved the feel as they rolled in my hands and the sound of hard glass clicking together. My collection consisted mostly of cat eyes. Also in my collection were steelies—actual ball bearings we used as shooters. I was always on the look-out for puries—the clear, colored marbles you can see through. They were most beautiful, I thought, so I would trade my steelies and cat eyes for puries. Mostly, boys were my friends and, predictably, they wanted my steelies. I wanted their puries.
Holiness should not become unholiness—ever. Puries do not become steelies. Puries mix in the bag but they do not change into steelies. If we claim to be saved by the blood of Jesus must have holiness as our goal. Instead, too many professing Christians compromise with the unholy world, thinking we can live in sin without consequence.
Who of us hungers for holiness today? Who of us trembles at the recognition of our sinfulness, our need of a Savior? Who bends the knees of our legs as well as our hearts to God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, asking Holy Spirit to search and cleanse our hearts? Rather, we like to buddy-up to God, believing we can have the best of heaven and hell simultaneously. Have we traded the fear of God for a culturally-made, casual God? Casual about sin, casual about holiness, casual about commitment. A.W. Tozer said, “We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.”
Anyone want to trade their steelies for puries? Ask Jesus. He loves to make One Way trades.