Blessed Are: The Pure In Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.
Matthew 5:8

Something that struck me while searching for the word pure in the Bible was how many times it was used to describe the construction of the Tabernacle. Everything was to be pure; from the gold and spices of incense, to the candlesticks and the priests. We were being shown from early on that the things which were to be in the presence of God were to be pure.

When Jesus says that those who are pure in heart are the ones to see God, He is opening salvation up to anyone who is willing to go through the refining process of salvation. Before Christ came, only specific priests of the Hebrew race were allowed to enter near to God's presence at the Tabernacle. Now, we who accept redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ are those serving priests with Christ as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). We are the only ones chosen out of the human race to come before Him.

Unfortunately, the only way to become pure when there are impurities present is through a refining process - and that involves heat. We must allow God to take the impurities out of our lives so that we may better glorify Him through a pure life. This doesn't happen all at once, or we wouldn't survive the process! There are many different aspect of our lives which need to be cleaned up for God, and as we allow Him to burn one thing off at a time, we turn into beautiful and loved creations of His, who are worthy through His work in us to be in His presence.

Something we also need to remember is that just because you are becoming a pure gold candlestick to shine before the Lord doesn't mean that everyone else is a candle as well. I may be incense or oil with a different set of impurities to be taken in a different manner. The point is that we are being purified.

Praise the Lord of our purification that all you need to do in the process is turn yourself over completely to Him! Then "...He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)  "...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14 NIV)