The pure in heart

Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I have recently enrolled in college and I apologize for not updating my blog sooner. It is no excuse, but I allowed it to become an excuse. I have been struggling a bit with the topic as well. What exactly does it mean to be pure in heart? How will we see God if we are pure in heart? Is there a method by which we can become pure in heart?

Interestingly there are several definitions for the word translated here as pure and some of our answers can be found there. First of all there are a couple of ways that we can be made pure. The first is by fire. This is how metals are purified. They are superheated and all the impurities get burned off. The second way to be made pure is by pruning. The gardener comes along and trims away the dead branches and we become more suitable for bearing fruit. If I were to be given the choice between the two, I think I would choose the pruning rather than the fire. Of course during the actual pruning, I am sure that I will not be so happy about it. Both of these definitions are pertinent to being clean in the physical sense.

The word could also be used to indicate clean in the levitical sense. This would be doing things that are not forbidden or things that impart no un-clean-ness to us. This would be a bit problematic for me if I were to attempt to become clean in this manner. I do not know the levitical law well enough to know how many of the laws I have broken, but I do know it well enough to know that if I were depending on my own adherence to the law for being clean, I would be in big trouble.

The third way that the word is used is similar to above but from the ethical perspective rather than a legal one. This would mean that we were blameless, innocent, free from sin, and unstained by the guilt of anything. Once again, this is a bit problematic if I look at my own self for satisfying the criteria of being clean.

Ultimately I know that I can only become clean because of Christ and even then it is not me that is clean but Christ's clean-ness is transferred to me. And the master gardener has occasionally pruned some dead branches from my life. However, one of my favorite passages is:

Philippians 4:8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Interesting that Paul here tells us that when we put into practice what he has taught us and when we think about the things that are pure and noble and right, that God will be with us. Perhaps, with God's help, this is something that I can do.