A system of fixed values and relations held us apart, each holding the other in reverence for the Owner. His we were, all the rights were His, all the prerogatives to give or to withhold according to the pattern of His will, which remained as yet a mystery to us.
Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity (Revell, 2002), p. 69.
The main reason why honor and purity are so important in a relationship is because of ownership. His body does not belong to me. It doesn’t even belong to him. My body does not belong to him, nor to me. Our “Owner,” as Elisabeth Elliot puts it, is God the Father. We belong to Him. All rights are reserved for Him. He chooses to give or to withhold according to His divine purposes. And though we may earnestly wish for a magic mirror to see what lies ahead, our Father in His mercy has a reason for darkening the future. He has given us the present, a time to learn and grow. And that is enough.
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Elisabeth Elliot’s writing has greatly influenced my life, even as a grown married woman. I truly wish someone had introduced me to her works when I was a teenager, but I am learning that it is never too late to incorporate the principles she teaches: namely, that passion is not sinful and purity is not prudish. Nor are they mutually exclusive. You can have both.
Dark Side of the Moon 
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