Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

This one is hard for who among us are truly pure in heart?  Paul reminds us that we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  On the other hand, sometimes we tend to think of purity with acting a certain way, following a bunch of rules, almost to a ritualistic way.  This sounds like the Pharisees Jesus often argued with during His earthly ministry.

Being pure in heart is more about a clean heart of devotion to God.  It is hard, but it is worth striving to achieve.  It is not found in the number of prayers we say in a day, or how much we give the church, or how many good deeds we do.  Purity in our hearts is allowing God to cleans us, change us, transform us into the new creation.

This is a key to the Lenten season, a time to allow God to change us, making us closer to the pure in heart.  As you continue this journey, pray for the Holy Spirit to purify your heart.

Peace,

Pastor Bill