1 John

2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

And there it is. The secret of purity. Is there any man who is plagued and harried more than me? My purity has long left me at the first strong desire. As Romans ominously dictates, "No one seeks after God." I was no different. I am no different. I see selfishness frosting every word, every squeeze of my hands, and leading of my feet. And selfishness is the dessert of evil.

How then shall I purify this rotten and hollowed heart?

If I endeavor to use the bible, or to concentrate on issues, or to focus on the philosophical reasoning underlining human nature; all efforts are human. But what does 1 John prescribe?

Hope.

Hope in Christ Jesus, that his righteous is enough. Hope that we can't do it. Hope that it is finished. Hope that Jesus has bought us bodies of purity that will come to us. Hope that the holy spirit has been placed in our hearts to search for purity, for Christ, for God.

How does one endure in such a hope? 50 years seems impossible. hopes die young. Hopes of joy derived from Toys, people, or riches seem to dim within hours, if not years. Who will keep the fire of hope continuing? Christ! God our Father! The holy spirit!

We have been granted with a power that is not our own! It is beyond comprehension. In honor of that verse, I do not offer a solution that is consistent or thorough, I only offer what the bible offers me. Hope in Christ. Hope it is enough, live free. Should you not live this way, see the prison that you, my kind reader put yourself into.