I have been thinking about Matthew 5 (and 6 and 7) a lot lately. Particularly, the beatittudes have caught my attention and haven't surendered it. The same thing happened a few months ago and I had a thought that changed the way I looked at one of them.
That verse had always made me a little sad. I was discouraged because I thought it was unattainable; I know I've been contaminated and my heart is a far cry from being pure. I was born inferior. I know I have let myself be modified by the sinful world I'm surrounded by. I know I have been born into a long line of humans who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I have worshipped other gods. And last but definitely not least of all, I know I have a multitude of blemishes.
In the back of my mind I thought, "Well, then I don't know how I'm going to see God. Those lucky people who are pure in heart!"
But NO!
The Bible says that above all, the heart of man is evil and that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. So I was never pure to begin with. My heart was never "uncontaminated". There was no way I could have avoided my heart being impure.
But Jesus wouldn't declare that promise if no man could ever obtain it; without providing hope.
Because it's not the avoidance of impure things that make us pure. Instead, it is inviting, allowing and choosing to have Jesus wash and purify us that makes us clean.
Purity of heart is not something we steward and uphold ourselves - it is something that the Lord gives us as He creates a clean heart in us. Because of that, I have hope of obtaining the promise that I can (and will) see God, despite the fact that I have been defiled. It's because we see God that our hearts can be made pure at all. It's quite a beautiful cycle.
You will see God if you have a pure heart and you get a pure heart from seeing God.
So lift your gaze and behold Him, the author and sustainer of everything - including our hearts and the purity of them.
Dictionary.com says the following of pure: adjective, pur·er, pur·est."Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8)
1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter
2. unmodified by an admixture; simple or homogeneous
3. of unmixed descent or ancestry
4. free from foreign or inappropriate elements
5. clear; free from blemishes
That verse had always made me a little sad. I was discouraged because I thought it was unattainable; I know I've been contaminated and my heart is a far cry from being pure. I was born inferior. I know I have let myself be modified by the sinful world I'm surrounded by. I know I have been born into a long line of humans who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I have worshipped other gods. And last but definitely not least of all, I know I have a multitude of blemishes.
In the back of my mind I thought, "Well, then I don't know how I'm going to see God. Those lucky people who are pure in heart!"
But NO!
The Bible says that above all, the heart of man is evil and that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. So I was never pure to begin with. My heart was never "uncontaminated". There was no way I could have avoided my heart being impure.
But Jesus wouldn't declare that promise if no man could ever obtain it; without providing hope.
Because it's not the avoidance of impure things that make us pure. Instead, it is inviting, allowing and choosing to have Jesus wash and purify us that makes us clean.
Purity of heart is not something we steward and uphold ourselves - it is something that the Lord gives us as He creates a clean heart in us. Because of that, I have hope of obtaining the promise that I can (and will) see God, despite the fact that I have been defiled. It's because we see God that our hearts can be made pure at all. It's quite a beautiful cycle.
You will see God if you have a pure heart and you get a pure heart from seeing God.
So lift your gaze and behold Him, the author and sustainer of everything - including our hearts and the purity of them.