As part of Common Grace’s Lenten 2018 reflection series, our CEO, Bob Mitchell, explored how, when we turn to God, and put our trust in him, his grace makes us pure and we are invited into a new way of relating with God.
Throughout Scripture we see God revealed in veiled ways, yet Jesus promises that the “pure in heart” will actually see God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God always appears in filtered ways: in fire, in cloud, even in a whirlwind. To Moses, as he hid in the cleft of a rock, God warned him: “No one can see my face and live.”
Yet in this Beatitude, Jesus promises something radical. The “pure in heart” will actually see God, unfiltered, openly, without shame, knowing him, and being known by him.
At that time God will make his home among his people; he’ll be right there with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning, or death, or crying, or pain. The relationship will be immediate, direct, unfiltered and truly glorious.
So who then are the pure in heart? Those who turn to God and trust in him. God has always loved us from the beginning. So when we turn to God, God’s grace abounds to us. The righteousness that we seek, God’s righteousness, is treated as ours when we trust ourselves to him. That’s what makes us pure.
Take some time this week to listen to Bob’s teaching on how the pure in heart see God, then consider how you can respond in your own life.
You can read more on Common Grace’s website.