Matthew 5:7
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
This is a great promise. I can see it clearly. The purity doesn’t come from ourselves. The first installment comes when we come to Christ. He cleanses us from sin by His work on the cross. God sees us forevermore through Jesus.
The next installment of purity comes through sanctification. This is the lifetime work that the Spirit does in us. I just had a three week lesson on forgiveness. It was probably the most challenging problem I’ve had in years. It’s blessed on the other side.
Rocks are polished by being in a machine with other rocks. It’s a constant churning. In the end they come out beautiful. The process is a constant bumping up against other rocks. There’s the chipping away. There is the constant irritation. This is what happens when we’re in relationship with one another.
God removes the filth from us. This is a great unburdening. He uproots the evil of sin. We will always have issues, but He takes away much.
All of this helps us see God. We will see Him in heaven, but we see Him now. Not so much with the eyes, but with our spiritual senses and our hearts. Romans 8 shares much about our relationship with God. Verse 14 says, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God”. We feel His leading. Like a horse senses the bridle, so we sense our God. Workings of the heart and conscience. Seeing the altering of circumstances. It’s a blessing.
Verse 15 says, ‘”For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”’ I was fearful as a young christian. All those misconceptions had to be worked out. We have a spirit of adoption. It knows we are loved and adopted. We have a loving parent and our spirits cry out to Him. Like a child reaches up to a loving parent, so do our spirits. This is our reality.
The last verse from Romans 8 is v. 16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”. The Holy Spirit does this. We feel Him. We sense His loving acceptance. Unbelievers have no idea about this. What a comfort.
The hymn “I Am His and He is Mine” has a great stanza that points out the insight we have about God and creation. “Heaven above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green; Something lives in every hue. Christless eyes have never seen: Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine, Since I know, as now I know.” Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Creation bears witness to God. However when we are in Christ creation it is more vibrant. It’s as if we have a greater perception for it.
Lord, thank You for the purity of heart. Thank You for the spiritual senses that allow us to see You.