Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
I was struck by what seems to be a promise to those who are pure in heart – they will “see God”! Not only this, but they are “blessed” (having the happiness that comes from divine favor, my Bible notes say).
And then I wondered what it means to be “pure in heart.” I found this online:
“The Greek word for ‘pure’ here is katharos. It means to be ‘clean, blameless, unstained from guilt.’
“The Greek word for ‘heart’ is kardeeah. It can be applied to the physical heart, but also refers to the spiritual center of life. It is where thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside.
“So, to be pure in heart means to be blameless in who we actually are. Being pure in heart involves having a singleness of heart toward God. A pure heart has no hypocrisy, no guile, no hidden motives. The pure heart is marked by transparency and an uncompromising desire to please God in all things. It is more than an external purity of behavior; it is an internal purity of soul.” (See http://www.gotquestions.org/pure-in-heart.html.)
So my next thought was “How can continue to be pure in heart?”
Psalm 119:9 gives us an answer:
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.”
We can offer this prayer that David offered after his sin in his life.
Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
1 John 3:2b-3, speaking to the children of God, says, “we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Praise Proclaimer 