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“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

Jesus highlights a reward for those who remain true to God. What does He mean by ‘the pure in heart?’

Purity has several meanings; among them are ‘cleanness; clearness; Freedom from sin; innocence; chastity.1

Pure water is usually transparent. I remember, when I was a teenager, my mother told me that a person could see through iced tea that was good—not too strong.

As Christians, we strive for perfection. This asset has some qualities attached to it. Authenticity and transparency make up part of perfection which is synonymous with purity.

Authenticity, a mark of being genuine or real, 2 simply means that what others see in us is the real thing. I realize we all have times of being tense and easily upset; when we are nervous, we are ‘off our mark.’ We should strive to stay on an even footing. I am not exempt from needing to work on not showing fluctuations in my attitude.

Transparency—the quality of being easily understood, recognized, or detected; obvious. Open; frank.3When a person displays this asset, he or she is easy to talk to; they have no hidden agendas.

Whenever we meet someone for the first time, we notice certain things about them- their height, body structure, whether or not they wear glasses. These are features that are obvious to us.

What is not always clear to us is the condition of his or her heart. We may get clues but we can never be sure. We pick up on mannerisms. We notice the timbre of the person’s voice. Once I went out of my way to introduce myself to a new neighbor and her daughter. She displayed uneasiness and chose her words carefully. In the years she and her family have lived here, I have had four conversations with her, two of them initiated by me. Both the times she started conversations, I was surprised. I recently heard something that tells me that I may have been wise to stay to myself. At present, she seems to be at odds with another neighbor. I have never liked it when someone placed me in the middle of volatile situations.

I know I should be the bigger person and reach out to her family but I feel constrained. I need to pray about this. I will pray for both households.

Sometimes, we get in trouble because of our speech. Our words are not pure. Jesus told his disciples, “Whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the overflow of the heart.” (Matthew 12:34) When our hearts are pure, our speech is clean.

King David wrote the requirements people need to satisfy in order to access God. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:3-4, NIV)

This Old Testament passage applies to us today as much as it did to those who read or heard it at the time it was written. We must strive for purity of heart.

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1.Webster’s New World Dictionary with Student Handbook © 1974 p. 603

· 2. ibid p. 50

· 3.ibid p. 788

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