Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.
—Philippians 2:14–15
To be innocent is to be pure, which is deeper than being blameless. We may be comparatively pure when we are twenty, but by the time we are thirty, other motives will likely have grown up in our hearts. In principle, the older we become, the more difficult it is to remain pure, for we tend to become more and more complicated. While we may still appear blameless, we may no longer be pure.
Adapted from Philippians: That I May Gain Christ,
by Titus Chu; page 124.
Tomorrow: “Becoming Blameless and Pure” (3)