Pure In Heart

Matthew 5:8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

So, is that just a promise that we will see Him in Heaven?  I'm not thinking that's the case for us.  I believe it entails so much more.  As I'm walking this thing out, I believe it means for the here and now..."We shall see God".  That's a pretty exciting promise as I see it.

The "pure in heart" phrase reminds me of King David, "a man after God's own heart", "the apple of God's eye".  Even though he did get off the beam with his sins and selfishness at times, he was "pure in heart".  The bottom line is motivation.  His motivation in life was to worship God,  to love God, to seek His face, to seek His will, direction and counsel.  Since David was "pure in heart", that means his love for God was based on nothing but "pure motives". He loved God because He was God.  He desired to serve God because of Who God is, not for what God did for him.  Motive defines the pure heart.  A pure heart seeks God for Who He is, for the pure motive of love and relationship.

Then Jesus said, that pure hearts "shall see God".  King David saw God in so many dimensions.  Just as we have seen Him in our own lives:  our Savior, our Father, our Healer, our Provider, our Protector, our Peace, our Husband, our Shepherd... the list goes on and on.   There is so much more to be revealed.  We will "see" Him like we've never seen Him before as we grow closer to Him.  As we fellowship more and more with Him, He reveals Himself more and more to us.

The Word also says that God will tell us His secrets as we walk closer to Him.  Psalms 25:14 says "The Lord confides in those who fear Him".  He reveals Himself through His secrets.  We "see" Him in a new light, in new revelation, in many new facets of His Glory in our lives.  As we approach Him and sit with Him in His presence with a pure heart, seek Him just because we love Him, not for any other reason, He makes His covenant known to us.  He makes Himself known to us.

God confides in us as with a close friend.  He trusts us with His secrets.  He makes His covenant known to us in deeper ways.  That's hard to wrap your mind around!  The God of this universe wants to hang with me!  He wants to tell me about His deepest self and share so much with me.  I believe this means He will reveal intimate details that before we weren't privy too. He just wants my "pure heart".  That's a heart He knows will carry out His Kingdom plan and carry His love as He intended.

God has made a covenant with us.  It's much more than a contract.  He has committed to love us no matter what and guaranteed His love will never change.  He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever". Deuteronomy 7:9 says that "He is the Faithful God Who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands".  I really like that word "lavish".  I want that kind of love from God.  I want to be so intimate with Him that I can hear Him so clearly and follow each step through my day as He intended for me.

Since God is faithful to keep His covenant, that means He is faithful to all His Word that we read and hear.  He's faithful to fulfill the Words spoken in Matthew 5:8.  He is faithful to let us "see" Him if we have a "pure heart" before Him.

I sure want Him to tell me what He's done and plans on doing through me and in my life.  I want to know His deep secrets and plans.  I want to be on the cutting edge of what God is doing on this earth and in His people.  His secrets aren't just about us.  The secrets are about what He is doing behind the scenes to get His will accomplished on this earth for His Kingdom.  We can be privy to many things as we keep our "pure heart" before Him.

I wouldn't mind hearing his secrets about others so I can encourage them in their walk with Him.  He told the prophets of the Bible days many things about others.  It was for healing, deliverance, instruction, and correction.  That's still operating today in the gifts of the Spirit:  discernment, wisdom, knowledge, prophecy.

The Holy Spirit reveals to us what God wants us to know and only what He knows will be a benefit to us, others, and will glorify Him.  I want to worship and serve God with a pure heart.  I want Him to let me "see" Him in new ways that I've never known before.  I know He has so much more to reveal to each of us, but we have to have the pure motive of love for Him.  He longs for that close communion with us and longs for us to desire the same with Him...for no other reason than we love Him and enjoy His company...His presence.

Dear Lord,
      I want to be pure in heart.  I want a deeper relationship with You and to commune with You all day, just because I love You, just because I enjoy You.
      I want to see You in Your many facets of my life.  I want to see You as the Lover of my soul.  I want to experience a new depth in You everyday of my life.
      Reminds me of some songs lyrics that I sing to You sometimes:   "You are the Love of my life.
You are the Hope that I cling to,  You are more than this world to me".