Blessed Are the Pure In Heart…
“Blessed are the pure in heart
For they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8)
Blessed are the pure in heart, whose focus is not on self, for they shall see God.
Once we begin to manifest mercy, we begin to change our focus from ourselves.
Once we have disconnected from trying to control the people and events to meet our own desires, we begin to see beyond our immediate situation.
Once our eyes are lifted beyond self, we begin to see the character of God. We conform to that which is in our focus (2 Cor. 3:18).
The heart is the bridge between man and God. The mind may know the truth, and the body may do the works, but the heart directs them both. The Law must be written on the heart and on the mind (Jer. 31:33, Hebr. 8:10), that we might have relationship and understanding. The heart is the seat of self, and until the heart is converted, the man is adrift in the changing seas of life. Knowledge of the proper direction is useless without a compass.
Arriving at the point of “pure in heart (able to) see God” may take a lifetime of exploring and rejecting the alternatives. Or it may require a catastrophic event that tears away the veil from our present reality to reveal the substance that is the foundation of this world, the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus. The veil that covers our eyes must be torn away, as was the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy place.
All of the blessings before this one cannot begin to convey the essence of this moment. Perhaps this is the glowing face of Moses, this almost ecstasy of the soul that glows within and can scarce be contained.
As Paul says, we are to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebr. 4:16).
Having shed the clothing that was our self, we stand boldly, but not in our own right. Giving no thought to our own worthiness, we stand on faith in God and His character. No longer is life about self, and here we find completeness in His mercy and grace.
We stand like Adam and Eve before the Fall. We are in relationship with our Creator. We have not arrived at this point by our own striving, but by God Himself who beckons us, and by Jesus beside us, and by the Holy Spirit within us.
As Paul says, “For we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, you are God’s temple.” (1 Cor. 3:9)
As with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we are to be God’s fellow workers. Our desire is to expand God’s field, extending it throughout the world in the soil of every heart so that each body will become the tabernacle of the living God. As God’s fellow workers, unity is a natural state of being. Only God is truly unifying; mankind's imitation of unity is always simply a redrawing of the lines of division. The divine purpose for our lives fills the void created by the lies of a fallen world.
Recall how the Israelites at Mt. Sinai responded to having been in the presence of God: “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’” (Exodus 20:18-19).
Still in the mindset of slavery to a system designed to suppress, the children of Israel were not ready for the freedom to be in a relationship of willing obedience. Fearful of power, they could not understand the offer of being “fellow workers.” Perhaps we do not understand this concept in our era, having swung from an emphasis on “workers” to an emphasis on “fellow,” almost in the sense of sharing the throne.
Here we must come to an understanding of the Law. The character of God is the Law. However, it is not possible to create enough laws, to be obedient to enough laws, to develop character. Maintaining relationship, being in relationship as a child to a parent, is the means of creating character. Legalism is a false relationship and develops a false character, an outward show rather than an inward reality.
Looking back, the Tree of Life stands in stark contrast to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life bears the fruit of relationship. The generations of relationship from this first Tree numbers the connections between each fruit that has been born from it.
The Tree of Knowledge bears its fruit, also. Judgment and separation are its bitter harvest. What is judged as good or evil toward the self is a tainted judgment. When we lift ourselves above the other in judgment, we are no longer connected to the Tree of Life.
The consolation for the pure in heart is that they shall see God. This is not with fearful expectation of judgment. By God’s grace we have come thus far, and by His grace we have seen His character. By faith in Him, we can stand before Him knowing the justice of His judgment.
The pure of heart, those who do not take personally the actions of others, can truly say, “Lord, forgive them, and forgive me as I have forgiven them.”
The light that shines from the cross purifies as it is received. But we must take off the mask of human pride.
Light was the creation of the first day. John says of Jesus, “In Him was life, and His life was the light of men. And the light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5).
We are to be a reflection of this light to the world. This is what a follower of Christ is becoming: a little Christ, a reflection of Him, however imperfect. We are to carry this light with us as a beacon to draw others to the harbor of safety to which we have been led.
The blessed state of happiness when we are freed of self is a mystery. That for which we strive is ours when it is no longer our self that does battle. Giving up our power is our greatest power, and here we stand at the border of what we have desired all along.
For the moment, we are pure in heart, and this allows us to arrive at peace.
Next article
“Blessed are the pure in heart
For they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8)
Blessed are the pure in heart, whose focus is not on self, for they shall see God.
Once we begin to manifest mercy, we begin to change our focus from ourselves.
Once we have disconnected from trying to control the people and events to meet our own desires, we begin to see beyond our immediate situation.
Once our eyes are lifted beyond self, we begin to see the character of God. We conform to that which is in our focus (2 Cor. 3:18).
The heart is the bridge between man and God. The mind may know the truth, and the body may do the works, but the heart directs them both. The Law must be written on the heart and on the mind (Jer. 31:33, Hebr. 8:10), that we might have relationship and understanding. The heart is the seat of self, and until the heart is converted, the man is adrift in the changing seas of life. Knowledge of the proper direction is useless without a compass.
Arriving at the point of “pure in heart (able to) see God” may take a lifetime of exploring and rejecting the alternatives. Or it may require a catastrophic event that tears away the veil from our present reality to reveal the substance that is the foundation of this world, the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus. The veil that covers our eyes must be torn away, as was the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy place.
All of the blessings before this one cannot begin to convey the essence of this moment. Perhaps this is the glowing face of Moses, this almost ecstasy of the soul that glows within and can scarce be contained.
As Paul says, we are to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebr. 4:16).
Having shed the clothing that was our self, we stand boldly, but not in our own right. Giving no thought to our own worthiness, we stand on faith in God and His character. No longer is life about self, and here we find completeness in His mercy and grace.
We stand like Adam and Eve before the Fall. We are in relationship with our Creator. We have not arrived at this point by our own striving, but by God Himself who beckons us, and by Jesus beside us, and by the Holy Spirit within us.
As Paul says, “For we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, you are God’s temple.” (1 Cor. 3:9)
As with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we are to be God’s fellow workers. Our desire is to expand God’s field, extending it throughout the world in the soil of every heart so that each body will become the tabernacle of the living God. As God’s fellow workers, unity is a natural state of being. Only God is truly unifying; mankind's imitation of unity is always simply a redrawing of the lines of division. The divine purpose for our lives fills the void created by the lies of a fallen world.
Recall how the Israelites at Mt. Sinai responded to having been in the presence of God: “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’” (Exodus 20:18-19).
Still in the mindset of slavery to a system designed to suppress, the children of Israel were not ready for the freedom to be in a relationship of willing obedience. Fearful of power, they could not understand the offer of being “fellow workers.” Perhaps we do not understand this concept in our era, having swung from an emphasis on “workers” to an emphasis on “fellow,” almost in the sense of sharing the throne.
Here we must come to an understanding of the Law. The character of God is the Law. However, it is not possible to create enough laws, to be obedient to enough laws, to develop character. Maintaining relationship, being in relationship as a child to a parent, is the means of creating character. Legalism is a false relationship and develops a false character, an outward show rather than an inward reality.
Looking back, the Tree of Life stands in stark contrast to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life bears the fruit of relationship. The generations of relationship from this first Tree numbers the connections between each fruit that has been born from it.
The Tree of Knowledge bears its fruit, also. Judgment and separation are its bitter harvest. What is judged as good or evil toward the self is a tainted judgment. When we lift ourselves above the other in judgment, we are no longer connected to the Tree of Life.
The consolation for the pure in heart is that they shall see God. This is not with fearful expectation of judgment. By God’s grace we have come thus far, and by His grace we have seen His character. By faith in Him, we can stand before Him knowing the justice of His judgment.
The pure of heart, those who do not take personally the actions of others, can truly say, “Lord, forgive them, and forgive me as I have forgiven them.”
The light that shines from the cross purifies as it is received. But we must take off the mask of human pride.
Light was the creation of the first day. John says of Jesus, “In Him was life, and His life was the light of men. And the light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5).
We are to be a reflection of this light to the world. This is what a follower of Christ is becoming: a little Christ, a reflection of Him, however imperfect. We are to carry this light with us as a beacon to draw others to the harbor of safety to which we have been led.
The blessed state of happiness when we are freed of self is a mystery. That for which we strive is ours when it is no longer our self that does battle. Giving up our power is our greatest power, and here we stand at the border of what we have desired all along.
For the moment, we are pure in heart, and this allows us to arrive at peace.
Next article