Blessed? Part 3
The Pure in Heart
27th April 2012
Matthew 5v8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
This beatitude, like all the others, is framed as what mathematicians would call a binary condition. When we first hear it, it sounds like there are only two categories when it comes to purity of heart, as if some people are 100% pure in heart and others are 0% pure in heart. And, if we want to be pedantic, if something is not 100% pure, then it's not pure - it's impure. We know, though, that purity of heart, like many other aspects of human character, is really a spectrum.
Jesus could have said something like "the degree to which you will see God is determined by the degree to which your heart is pure" or "your ability to experience God is proportional to the purity of your heart." But Jesus was talking to normal human beings, and most normal humans don't talk like that.
I know that the reality is that my heart is not 100% pure. I know my heart is somewhere on the spectrum between 0% pure and 100% pure. I know this because Jesus says the pure in heart will see God, and I can see God, but I can't see Him very well.
I do experience God, particularly in worship, and in prayer, and sometimes when walking on the beach or in the fields, or by finding God in other people. I experience Him in lots of ways, in fact. But I don't discernibly experience God all the time, not even every time I worship or pray. And some of my experiences of God seem more profound and more "real" than others. That is, God is unchanging but my experience of Him is variable. That might be due in part the God's sovereign choice; perhaps He chooses to be experienced more on some occasions than on others. But I suspect that it's also due in part to the impurities in my heart getting in the way.
For me, one of the most moving phrases in the Bible is:
Philippians 3v10a
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection
But I will only know Him as well as the purity/impurity in my heart will enable me.
The good news for every Christian is that God is working by His Holy Spirit to purify the heart of every one who has been born again. I am at a point on the spectrum. You are at a different point. But we're all also moving along it, towards having a purer heart.
But the speed at which we move along the spectrum is affected by our willingness to co-operate with the Holy Spirit, taking time to pray, choosing to repent, and being selective about what we think about.