Towards Purity

A farmer went each week to the Farmers' Market to sell, among other things, the cottage cheese and apple butter made on his farm. He carried these in two large tubs, from which he ladled the cottage cheese or apple butter into smaller containers the customers brought.

One day he got to the Market and discovered he'd forgotten one of his ladles. He had no choice but to use the one he did bring for both products. Before long, as the two products got mixed in with each other, he couldn't tell which was which. That's the way it is when the child of God loses his or her purity – he or she is no longer different, distinct, from the people of the world.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught about the beatitudes and one of the beatitudes was "Blessed are the pure in the heart for they shall see God." What does Jesus mean by "heart"? The heart means the center of being and personality; it is the fount out of which everything else comes. It includes the mind; it includes the will; it includes the soul; it includes the emotions. It is the total man. By this He means those who are pure not merely on the surface but in the center of their being and at the source of their every activity. But the heart is also the root of all problems:

Matthew 15:19 ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander

We have to guard our hearts from all these to keep our heart pure! But what is pure? there are 2 meanings to purity: 1) without defilement, cleansed, washed. The Apostle John tells us in Rev 21:27; 22:14 that those who are impure will not enter into the new Jerusalem. There is no place for impurity in the heavenly city. The only way we are cleansed are through the blood of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for our sins. 2) sincere, without hypocrisy, single-minded. This kind of purity can be found in the Psalms: “… give me an undivided heart …” (Ps 86:11c).

Towards purity as our lifestyle, obviously, has to be and is a work of God and His grace. But we cannot remain passive and idle in the whole matter of purity. We need action and God expects reaction from our part as well:

James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.(NIV)

The fact that we know that we cannot ultimately purify and cleanse our heart does not mean we should walk in the gutters of life waiting for God to cleanse us. We must do everything we can to walk in holiness and sincerity. We must do all we can to avoid sin and evil. We must do everything we can even though we know it is not enough and that in the final analysis it is God Who must purify us.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." See God. This promise is extraordinary. All the other blessings of the Beatitudes are summarized in this one. To see God is the highest heavenly pleasure. You know what John says,

1 John 3:2 ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (NIV)

What an amazing thing to say – that you and I, such as we are, pressed with all the problems and troubles of this life are going to see Him face to face. You and I are meant for the audience chamber of God; you are I are being prepared to enter into the presence of the King of kings. Do you believe it? Will it happen to you? Do you realize that a day is coming you are going to see the blessed God face to face? Not as in a glass, darkly; but face to face. You and I are going to enjoy God, and to spend eternity in His glorious and eternal presence.