Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8
{CHAMBERS} “Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that.
Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God. We have to grow
in purity. Our life with God may be right and our inner purity unblemished, yet
occasionally our outer life may become spotted and stained. God intentionally
does not protect us from this possibility, because this is the way we recognize
the necessity of maintaining our spiritual vision through personal purity. If
the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest
degree, we must put everything else aside until we make it right. Remember that
spiritual vision depends on our character— it is “the pure in heart” who “see
God.” God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have
something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in
contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become
tarnished. Not only must our “inner sanctuary” be kept right with God, but also
the “outer courts” must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God
gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is
immediately blurred when our “outer court” is stained. If we want to maintain
personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, it will mean refusing to do or
even think certain things. And some things that are acceptable for others will
become unacceptable for us.”
{ELGIN} Two things I have
learned about my walk as a Christian.
First is that it is a lot easier for me to see the faults of others than
to acknowledge my own. Second, I am much more
willing to make allowances for sin and imperfections in my life than I am in
the lives of others. In Psalm 51, David
pleaded with God after being confronted
by the prophet Nathan in regard to David’s sin with Bathsheba and sending her
husband to his death. He asked that God
would create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. David, a man after God’s own heart, struggled
with his flesh, just like we do. If our
heart is right, our love will be right.
Matthew 22:37-39 says love God and then love others. Our love for God results in a manifestation
of love for others. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
tells us what that love looks like … “Love is patient, love is kind. It does
not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it
is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
Is that the love that you
show others? Or, does your love fall
short. Just prior to writing that
description of love, Paul wrote “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels,
but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing. If I
give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may
boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
On the one hand, how can we speak critically … or harbor bitterness toward
others .. and on the other say that we bring glory to God by what we do? Listen, if you don’t have the love of God in your heart,
then you are nothing more than a clanging cymbal … you are nothing with respect to your Christian
life. You are deceiving yourself. Martie and I watch the Gaither Homecomings on
PBS on occasion. The other night, Gloria
Gather prayed a prayer of blessing for a soon-to-be-born child…. She prayed “we
promise not to break this tender reed with harsh attitudes and criticism.” Have you ever walked through tall grass .. I
mean grass that is waist high? When you
look back you can see where you have walked by the grass that has been broken
as you made your way to your destination. Gloria's words caused me to wonder how many broken reeds I had left along my
path as I have traveled through this life.
And like David I felt compelled to ask God to create in me a new heart
and restore a right spirit in me. How about you?
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