You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in you. Augustine
The trees are bare now, but soon they will burst forth with leaves in a glorious green majesty. Here’s a little miracle for you: a single large tree can release enough oxygen to meet the needs of four people for two days. This is great for people because we breathe air, which is composed of 80% nitrogen, but it is the oxygen in air we need to live.
We exhale another gas, carbon dioxide (about 0.04% of the air around us) and the trees take this gas into their leaves, and through a process called photosynthesis, utilize the carbon dioxide and water, and the energy of sunlight, to convert these chemicals into sugar, the food of trees.
Our wonderful God has created this continual air-cleansing miracle in nature for our benefit, and His good pleasure. It’s there for us to observe if we will only make the effort to see it, that is, see how God has provided for us in His kindness and mercy.
This reminds me of a hymn, titled “Open Our Eyes, Lord,” written by Robert Cull, and published in 1976. One line reads, “we want to see Jesus.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Jesus?
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8, NKJV.)
The requirement to see God is to be “pure in heart.” Jesus was speaking to His disciples when he said this, and of course, a large crowd of people were listening in, as this was part of the Sermon on the Mount.
I know I do not have a pure heart, and the scriptures confirm this.
The Old Testament reads, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV.) The New Testament reads, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23, NLT.)
So, what did Jesus mean when He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8, NKJV.)
I like to break down a verse to better understand it. “Blessed” refers to the steadfast joy of one who has received God’s favor. This is happiness that is not brief or transitory. As for purity of heart, Jesus was the only man to ever live without sin, so purity of heart doesn’t mean we’ve met Christ’s perfect standard, but the scriptures give us understanding.
“He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5, AMP.)
God has saved us because of His own compassion and mercy and put the Holy Spirit in us to continually change us into the likeness of Christ, renewing us day by day. Yes, I will joy in the God of my salvation!
As I discussed above, God placed the trees upon the earth to cleanse the air. The air is not “perfect,” but continually cleansed for us by the trees.
So how does Titus 3:5, quoted above and (if I may say so) God’s example in the trees show us what our Lord meant by “pure in heart?” It is something we continually pursue with a whole heart. Through the Gospel, we are united with the only One Who ever had a pure heart, our Lord Jesus Christ. This brings me back to the first Beatitude: to be poor in spirit, realizing how far short we fall from God’s perfect standard. Yet, He motivates us to work for that which we can never attain in this life: purity of heart.
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8, NIV.)
This is purity of heart: pursing Christ in obedience with an undivided, whole heart. This is where the joy is. This is, in this life, purity of heart.
Pastor Colin S. Smith defines purity of heart this way: “Some people have the idea that purity is something that you have when you are young, and you lose it if you mess up. That is the way the word “purity” is often used. But in the Bible purity is not something that you lose; it’s something that you gain as you grow in the Christian life. It’s not something behind you that was lost, but something ahead of you to be pursued and to be gained.” (Momentum, Pursuing God’s Blessings Through the Beatitudes, © 2016, Colin S. Smith, p. 153.)
Purity of heart, for one who is in Christ, is something to be gained. Jesus has already won the victory, by paying the ultimate price for us. Though I’m imperfect in this life, I can pursue purity through the power of the Spirit. And when I fall, I can get up, and He will be there still, so that I can single-mindedly pursue a closer walk with Christ.
I offer these posts as one who knows I fall well short of Christ’s example. Nonetheless, I pursue a deeper understanding of the scriptures and my Lord, and welcome those who follow me on my journey. I’m thankful for your comments, as well.
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me” (Micah 6:8, NKJV.)
Selah