The Beatitudes: Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. " - Matthew 5:8

I used to think of this verse and imagine what it would be like to see God.

Just imagine waking up on Sunday morning and beginning your process of getting ready for church. You know, making the breakfast, getting the kids dressed, brushing their teeth and hair, trying not to spill anything on their recently laundered outfits. Amidst all of the chaos, you are trying to keep yourself calm as you see the big hand on the clock moving progressively closer to the time you must leave. Once all of the kids are ready, you have a whopping 10 minutes to get yourself dressed and ready. If your house is anything like mine, this weekly ritual makes it very difficult to ready one's heart and mind for the Lord.

Now imagine, waking up as the sun is rising, the house is quiet, the kid's are still asleep. You make your way through the dark hallway to the kitchen to get that first cup of coffee and spend some quality "me" time before the chaos. You see a figure seated at the kitchen table with 2 cups of coffee, the aroma filling your senses. Your first inclination is to scream and run for the phone, then you see him smile, and his eyes fill you like a warm embrace. You suddenly recognize Him as your loving Savior, and you hurry to His side, falling to your knees before Him. A soft voice says, "Rise, my child. Come, let's walk." and He hands you your cup, blended perfectly with the cream and sugar. Emotion overwhelms you and you reach out to embrace the Son of God. Together, you walk with Him out the back door and along a path leading from the back yard into the woods and down by the river. For the next hour, you and Jesus Christ walk, talk, laugh and cry together in an emotional reunion. Upon the return you have one last question for Him. "Lord, why did You come to me today and not before?" With a smile upon His lips, His eyes soften and He says, "The only difference my child, is that today you recognized My presence, rid of the world's worries and concerns." With a smile, an embrace and kiss on the cheek, He is gone. The only evidence of His visit was the warmth upon your cheek.

Reflection on Scripture:

Jesus stood on the hill in Capernaum on that day sharing this wisdom with His disciples and the crowds. Do you think they understood? Keep in mind that many of them were of Jewish culture and heritage. They had seen God have personal relationships with their ancestors, Kings, Priests, Prophets and His chosen messengers. I suppose their understanding of Christ's words were that they must do something in order to purify their hearts and then they could also see the God of Abraham, Jacob and David.

We need to realize that it is impossible to make your own heart pure. This goes back to man's exhaustive propensity to sin. As long as sin is part of your existence you cannot discover purity in the Lord. The grace of God enables you to come to the table pure of heart. You see, by accepting His gift of grace and the redemptive qualities of His mercy on your sins, you have become worthy, through Christ, to be in God's presence. There is no other way. As much as people want to "see" the Lord to satisfy their quest for His existence, it is not until they have accepted His existence and grace that they are able to see Him. How surprised those on that hill would one day be to realize that they were actually sitting there with the very God they longed to see, but were unable to comprehend it.

So, how about you? Would you recognize God if He walked up to you?  Do you really want to see God?  If so, how would you act differently than how you are acting today?  What are you going to do to change this?  The advantage you have over those on the hill that day is enormous, but you have to act on it. Accept His saving grace and redemptive spirit and join into a oneness with the Lord.