Pure in Heart
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8)
I had the blessing to preach through this verse last weekend. I use the word blessing kind of loosely because I haven’t had a single verse tear me and my sin apart as bad as this one did in a long time. I spent much time in preparing for this sermon, and my meditation on this verse just showed me how completely impure I am.
To be pure
To be pure is really a multi-faceted concept with a single purpose of being singly devoted to God alone. The idea is that we are to be looking to Him and Him alone. If we look for satisfaction anywhere else then we are impure. The Psalmist writes:
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 24:3-6)
Did you catch the idea? We are blessed in having clean hands a pure heart before God. We are blessed in seeking his face alone.
Things that get in the way
So what is getting in your way? We live in a world and particularly in a culture (America) that tells us we will be satisfied by setting our hearts on getting the best stuff. So if you get the nicest house with the nicest yard and white picket fence with the nicest cars in the garage and the perfect little family on the inside, then you will be satisfied. However, this isn’t being pure in heart, this is being divided. This is saying I want stuff because I think that the stuff will make me more happy than God will. We could also call this idolatry. The stuff may not be bad but if it’s getting in the way of God than it is in the wrong place.
Extra grace and mercy
So how are you being pure in heart? How are you living a life that is singly devoted to God and God alone? If you are anything like me then you are not living this life of purity before God. Your heart and mind are elsewhere. You want things far more than you want God. For me I have come to realize that I need more grace and more mercy. I need to look to Jesus because he lived the perfect life of purity in my place. I must look to the cross where he bore my impurities upon himself.
I am a man, who by God’s grace, is growing in purity. My prayer is that you are a man or woman, who by God’s grace, is growing in purity.
The pure in heart will see God, and there is no more satisfying blessing than that.