In my house there's a little box in a little safe, which holds a little ring. I can remember that ring on the finger of my wife (before we tied the knot), and it symbolized her commitment to stay sexually pure until marriage. Every once in a while I will see a teenage girl with a similar ring and a similar commitment. You may be one of those girls. Maybe you're not. Either way, I want to encourage you to think about that commitment and expose you to a deeper understanding of "why" you are wearing (or not wearing) a purity ring based on the gospel.
For starters, a purity ring does not mean that you are "married to Jesus." Until the day girls actually get married, some think, "Jesus is my boyfriend/husband." At first glance that may seem super-spiritual, but doing so means that Jesus is exclusively yours and no one else's. The truth of the gospel is that the Church (those who confess Jesus as Lord) is the Bride of Christ. You are not Jesus' girlfriend—He is not your boyfriend. The Church is the Bride of Jesus, and this relationship is what marriage is supposed to reflect and represent. (Go ahead right now and read Ephesians 5:22–33.)
Some girls wear purity rings because it is a symbol of morality. They believe sex outside of marriage is wrong, immoral, and can cause a lot of hurt, pain, and negative emotions. While this is true, there are many other girls not following Jesus who make this same commitment. Culture may confirm basic truth, but if you have the same reasoning for a purity ring as the world, then you are overlooking the truth that flows from the gospel.
A purity ring declares the gospel truth that God is completely pure (Proverbs 30:5). Through the "camping out" of God's Spirit in you because of faith in Jesus, you are able to reflect and represent the purity of God in your boyfriend/girlfriend relationships in physical AND emotional ways. That ring doesn't just show abstinence or morality. That ring can show the gospel.
What about you? Do you have a purity ring?
How can you show the gospel in other ways as it relates to purity?
