Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Thoughts from Pastor Stuart
Dive Deeper
Behind the Scenes
This verse is found in a passage of scripture commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. This was the beginning section of a larger sermon that Jesus gave on the Mount of Olives (the Sermon on the Mount) at the beginning of His ministry.
In this sermon, Jesus challenges what most thought it looked like to follow God. He said things like “blessed are the poor in spirit,” “blessed are the meek,” “blessed are the gentle,” and “blessed are the pure in heart.” Jesus lines out what it actually looks like to have a heart that pleases the Lord.
And it rocks the listener’s world! See, the religious culture had become so polluted with the ideas, feelings, and pride of mankind, that the people who thought they were pleasing the Lord were doing just the opposite. They were far from the Lord and didn’t see it. Jesus came to correct that. He sought to set the record straight, weed out the things that were diluting God’s message, and give people a way to connect with God.
Another thing that is revolutionary about the Beatitudes are the promises that He makes. Jesus promises that those who follow His way will receive spiritual and emotional blessings beyond understanding.
Matthew 5:8 is one of those promises that would have flabbergasted and confounded the listeners. It would have even enraged the religious elite. To see God was something that mankind just didn’t do. To behold the God of the universe was something they didn’t understand. (Of course, they also didn’t understand that they were literally looking on the face of God at that moment in the person of Jesus Christ.) This statement would have felt near blasphemous! They were surely shocked to hear this man standing on a hill saying such things!
Make it Real
Jesus’ promises are just as powerful today as they were then. But I think so many of us have become numb to them. We, like the religious elite of Jesus’ time, have allowed our own interpretation, the culture, and our feelings to dilute the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. We’ve forgotten the power and the purity of it. We’ve lost view of the true Gospel message.
We, like them, have settled for the “Gospel plus.” The Gospel plus culture, plus man-made rules, plus works, plus esteem, plus pride. We’ve unconsciously (and sometimes consciously) diluted the truth of the Gospel with what makes us feel good, what strokes our pride, and what feels “right”.
And the result is that we no longer have a pure heart, and we can no longer see God clearly. We’ve allowed the things of this world to cloud our view of God. The more we compromise and add to the Gospel, the harder it is to see God through the haze.
Consider this analogy. If you have a cup of perfectly pure, clean water, and then you put some dirt in it, does the dirt become less dirty, or does the water become less clean? Of course, it’s the water that changes. This is true of our faith too. When we take the pure, perfect, and clean life-giving truth of the Gospel and add things of this world to it, we don’t end up making the things of this world more righteous. Instead, we end up diluting and polluting the Gospel.
As believers, we have to constantly be on the lookout for things that are polluting and diluting our faith. We have to be aware of the ways in which we do not have a pure heart. And when we see something that is skewing or blocking our view of God, we have to be committed to cooperating with the Holy Spirit inside us to remove the pollutant.
The process of removing the things that get between us and God can be hard, uncomfortable, and time-consuming. But in the end, it is ALWAYS worth it! Because nothing of this world is worth holding on to if it means losing even the smallest glimpse of the perfect Savior.
So today, as you go about your day, be on the lookout for the things of this world that are skewing your view of Jesus. In what areas are you settling for “Gospel plus” instead of pure Gospel? Where do you see your heart being polluted and your faith being diluted? Then take a second to bring those things to Jesus and ask Him to help you root those things out.
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Lord,
I want You… only You. I don’t want a polluted or diluted version of You. I want You fully and purely. Please help me to see what things in my life are hindering me from seeing You fully. Teach me what it looks like to follow You wholeheartedly and without hesitation. Help me to see what it looks like to behold Your beauty in full.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen!!!