Purity

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

When Jesus says that the pure in heart will “see God,” I believe He is referring to how we may see God in both this life and in the next life. The purpose of this entry is to speak of my understanding of how we may seek to be pure in heart so that we may “see” or experience God’s presence in this life with the hope that it may edify others.

Different commentators refer to different passages of Scripture to serve as examples of purity. I will refer to a couple of verses of the Psalms of David because, like me, David sought God imperfectly.

Delighting in God

In the first Psalm, David teaches: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3).”

To seek purity, the majority of us need to make some changes to our lifestyle. For example, if someone has an alcohol use disorder, they should not buy alcohol nor spend their time in bars. To use a more personal recent example, I understand that, if I do not want to get caught up in a serial television series, it is best that I not start to watch a series. I also understand that picking up the phone if I do not need to leads me to pay less attention to both my children and spiritual thoughts. Consequently, I often fight the urge to pick up my phone and scroll social media. It is not easy for us to overcome these compulsions, particularly if we are not comfortable being alone with our thoughts.

In the short term, giving into these compulsions may provide us with more relief than meditation and prayer provide, particularly if we do not trust God nor ourselves. When I make a conscious decision to direct my thoughts toward God, if I am in a place of vulnerability, I recognize my spiritual poverty. I mourn those parts of myself that were previously too painful for me to face. Recognizing that I can never achieve righteousness on my own, I hunger and thirst for the righteousness that may be found in Christ. Through Christ and His love, I rid myself of my resentments and I show mercy to others.

I seek to be like “the tree planted by streams of water;” However, no matter how much time I spend studying, meditating on, and writing about God’s Word, other thoughts continue to creep in. For example, I still struggle with anxiety regarding things that I need to address in my life in the short term and regarding the future. I also still struggle with pride when I perceive I am doing well and with pride’s counterpart, shame, when I do not live up to the standards that I set for myself or those that I think others set for me.

Search your heart and be silent

In the fifth Psalm, David says: “When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord. (Psalm 4:4-5).” From the teachings of Jesus, we understand that the essence of the law is to love God with our whole heart and love our neighbor as ourselves.

For those of us who have families and/or full-time jobs, it is difficult to find the time to focus our thoughts on God, particularly if it is not a habit of ours. This makes it especially important for us to rid or lessen the exposure of those things that distract us from God. As a professional who works over 50 hours a week and is raising a family in partnership with my wife, Rita, my days are unpredictable. Consequently, I find it especially important to focus my thoughts on God, as David says, before bed and first thing in the morning when I wake up. There are times during these meditations when I feel God’s presence and His love and there are other times when I don’t. During the latter times I understand I am to trust as much as during the former.

It takes effort to seek God’s presence during the workday. Every day, I take a walk several hours after I come into the office. I am fortunate that there is a beautiful view for almost the entire walk. On most days, for the majority of my walk, I think through problems to be solved, about what I want but do not have, or anxieties. But, during most of my walks, at some point in time, I bring my thoughts back to God, His power and His love. I see God’s presence in the trees, the green hills in the distance, the sky and the clouds, and other people whom I may walk by.

I understand that I do not see God through my own efforts but solely through His Grace. However, I have found through my own experience of these thirty years since I have become a Christian that I experience God’s presence much more when I seek His presence through purity and love than when I am governed by my own self will.