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 ears ago someone asked, “Why doesn’t God just show Himself and remove all doubt that He really exists?” The response to his question was that God did show Himself in Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. So many believed Him that the faith exploded in the Middle East and spread into Europe, Africa, and Asia. Christians were willing to die for Jesus and many did as the Romans slaughtered thousands. But the good news of the faith still spread. The great prophet Moses wanted to see God, but he was told that no man could see Him and live (Exodus 33:20). It is not possible for us to actually see God as He really is. He is not a ghost or a spirit as we think of ghosts and spirits. While He is invisible to our human eyes, He is not invisible (Rev. 4-5). He is something beyond our thoughts, dreams, and imaginations. The Apostle Paul had a glimpse of God but He appeared only as light (Acts. 9:1-9). Recently, I was in Holland conducting a conference and someone asked if I had ever talked with God face-to-face. I was surprised by the question, but it revealed that people want to know God and talk with Him. They want to see Him.
Sixth Beatitude. Do you want to see God too? Our next Beatitude tells us the conditions for seeing God.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (NASB) Matt. 5:8 There is nothing special about any of the words that Jesus used in this Beatitude, except for the Greek word for “pure.” Therefore, we will focus on that word briefly. In the Greek, the word for “pure” has the idea of “clean, pure, unsoiled, and not dirty.” It was used to refer to refined metals such as gold, iron, and silver. That is, the word referred to metals with all the impurities removed. It was also used to refer to clothes that had been washed clean and to grain that had no chaff. But maybe the best example of the meaning of the word is when the ancients used it to refer to a group of soldiers that was purged of its cowards. “Pure” referred to all of the undesirable elements being removed.
Heart. Now, what does the word “heart” mean? A story is told about a little boy who was asked by his teacher, “Where is your heart?” He responded, “My heart is where I sit down.” The teacher was surprised and asked, “How did you get that idea?” The little boy responded with, “Every time I do something good, my grandma pats me there and says, ‘Bless your little heart.’” I love that story of innocence. Well, our heart is not located where the little boy thought it was.
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | ||||||
