October 6

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

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🔊 Peter received a clean, pure heart when he was baptised with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost – Acts 15:8-9. This is important, since it is possible to associate God’s blessings with superficial things. For example, it would be wrong to associate the gift of tongues with a pure heart, since that would be making something lesser a sign of something greater. A pure heart will confirm that the blessings I am receiving are from God – not the other way round! A pure heart, then, is a gift. It is imparted to one who asks in simple faith. It is a change in the tone of our life, and indicates that purity is now part of everything we think and do, as surely as grapes grow on a vine and thorns on a bramble bush. Purity of heart is not merely the promise that we will one day see God; it is, much more, the ability to see Him now. Purity of heart opens us up to the possibility of deep, real fellowship with God. It is the clear eye of faith. It is the open ear that can hear His voice. It is this inner faculty for which we long and without which no amount of moral standards will satisfy our hearts. Purity of heart means having within us a fountain of thoughts that are beautiful, positive and refreshing. Some have thought that this means we can be perfect. Once, in Spurgeon’s Bible School, a student was baptised with the Holy Spirit, and began to exclaim that he felt so clean that he was perfect. This was at breakfast, and Spurgeon calmly picked up a jug of milk, walked behind the student and poured it over his head! The student’s reaction quickly made him realise that he was not yet perfect! You may chuckle, but don’t miss the greater point: there is a blessing and a power in purity of heart that could make you tempted to think you could be perfect. When were you last tempted to think that?