BE-ATTITUDES: PURE IN HEART

Jesus is always aiming for the heart. That’s why His focus on this Beatitude (as well as the others) is the heart or one’s innermost being. Some have confused this Beatitude with ‘blessed are the pure in deed’ or ‘blessed are the pure in works’, but that never seems to be the goal of Christ. Pure works are the result of a pure heart. Be careful not to add legalism to the words of Christ. He, as always, is after your heart. It’s not in the sacrifice itself that Jesus is interested in. As we know, even Cain offered a sacrifice, but God accepted Abel’s sacrifice instead because his heart behind it was pure. If I may encourage you to focus less on what you do and focus instead on why you do it. I believe this perspective shift will not only add years to your ministry, but will also add joy to your ministry as well.

The glorious result of purity in heart is intimacy with God! The pure in heart are free from the pollutants of other sins. Their purity is the table in which they can find fellowship with their Lord. They have been blessed with the ability to know the Lord in a more affectionate way than others, because their heart mimics the Lord’s. What angers Him, angers them and what delights Him, delights them; it is in this common ground that they have the ability to see God as others don’t.

There are many things needed in the Church (that’s a capital ‘C’) today, but one can make the case that purity is towards the top of that list. I say this because it seems that intimacy in fellowship with Christ is greatly lacking even though we know that intimacy is produced through purity of heart. I frequently hear more about success than sacrifice; more about acting upon liberties than carrying crosses. Our focus seems to have shifted away from purity and latched onto prosperity. It’s my hope that the selfishness that permeates the world and church will lead to the recognition that where selfishness pervades, hope evades. It’s my hope that the church will stop focusing on their militant defense of liberties, or their self-righteous legalism and, instead, pursue a heart like Christ’s, a heart of purity.