Matthew 5:8 (CEB)

8 “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God.

Reflection

Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount describes our life in God’s Kingdom as disciples of Jesus. Living in God’s Kingdom requires we undergo a paradigm shift, from what is important to the world, to what is pleasing to God. Ultimately, all the Beatitudes emanate from having a pure heart. The pure in heart love God with all their heart, just as Jesus did. The pure in heart desire to live lives that please God, just as Jesus’ life was dedicated to doing God’s will. The pure in heart believe in God’s loving promises and the redemption and transformation of all hearts in the world through Jesus.

Having a pure heart is an inside job. A pure heart is the gift of God. Only God can and will change our hearts, when we love God and the Spirit works within us. While we may appear one way to others, God knows what is really in our hearts. We can say we follow Jesus and love others, but inside we’re always ready to judge others. We’re like the story of the woman looking out her window and complaining to a friend about her neighbor’s dirty children and soiled laundry. Her friend, looking out the same window, responded that the dirty streaks were on her own window, not on her neighbor’s children and laundry.

Our heart influences all we see, say and do. Our heart is a mirror held up to our faces by God, showing us what we are really like in our thoughts, humbling us, and showing us, what we can truly become in Christ.

Biblical writers say the heart is at the center of our spiritual life. From it flows the grace of God through us, that we pour into others. And while we struggle with this heart transformation, we experience the joy that comes from desiring God as the center of our being, to live a life, from a heart that pleases God. A pure heart is undivided, it can’t serve the world and serve God. When we live into the Kingdom of God, then we follow the way of love, we follow Jesus’ commandment to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind…and, your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). This is pure heart living, loving and desiring God above everything.

by Jeneene Reduker

For Pondering & Prayer

There’s a promise at the end of this saying. Jesus says that the pure in heart will see God, the fulfillment of their heart’s desire, to experience God’s glory with hearts purified by faith.

What do you see in the mirror of your heart that God holds up for you to see?  Is your greatest desire to love God with all your heart? Do you desire to see God?

Prayer: Holy and Loving God, our greatest desire is to love you with all our hearts. Pour out your grace on us, increase our faith and purify our hearts with your love so that we may see you. Amen.