“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)
You want to TRULY know God? Have a pure heart! Look at what David wrote in Psalm 24:3-6 “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
These Beatitudes aren’t 8 different ways to be blessed and happy. No, they are all steps or parts that must be combined and added together. It’s a process. Verse 6 of Matthew 5 told us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” When we TRULY want to know God, and we desire to know Him more than anything else, we will clean up our lives, getting rid of the sin and wickedness and ANYTHING that would in ANY way keep us from seeing Him. Remember 1 John 1:5, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” To have a proper and right relationship with God, we MUST have a pure heart.
When David sinned against God and committed murder and adultery, he prayed “Create in me a clean heart, O God…” (Psalm 51:10) He knew the importance and value of having a heart focused SOLELY on KNOWING GOD and PLEASING GOD. The Bible mentions the importance of keeping our heart right many many times. If we would see God and come to know Him in AMAZING ways, We HAVE TO HAVE A RIGHT HEART. We can go through all the motions and “act” like a Christian, but if our heart isn’t right – it will all be in vain.
Of course, the critical thing is – we can’t have a pure heart in our own strength. We purify our hearts through TRUE FAITH in Jesus Christ that makes us have the right desires and motives that are pleasing to Him. Let’s go back to 1 John and read verses 5-7 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Note especially the last part IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT……that’s how we have and keep a pure heart. Doing what is RIGHT and PLEASING to God. The more clean our lives and our hearts the more we will see God.