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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
Pure in Heart
Has anyone seen God lately?
Thought not!
I can see myself, and you can too, as being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, working on being gentle, greatly desiring to be righteous, and showing mercy. But here, I must stop and ponder an impossibly high wall.
But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; … (Matthew 15;18-20a)
But I would like to see God. Asaph in Psalm 73 wrote, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.” So let’s start here. We desire to see God, but we cannot see God because our hearts are not pure. Here is the prime motivator for being followers of Jesus.
Pondering all this, I thought of Psalm 15. While it might not be the purity needed to see God, it points in the right direction and is a good starting place.
O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken. (Psalm 15)
Today—we do what we are able. Tomorrow, by the Holy Spirit, we will do better. In the future we will see God in purity.
They Shall See God
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2, 3)
Blessed are those who see Jesus, for they shall be pure.
This beatitude is a promise from Jesus to us. What started as being poor in spirit will finish being pure in heart—though His work.