Tuesday, July 29, 2014

July 30, 2014

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" Matthew 5:8 

For the past several years there has been much concern over distracted driving. In a world of distractions "distracted driving" usually refers to driving while checking messages on your phone. Obviously, when your attention is divided between the traffic and the texts you are putting yourself and others at risk.

When Jesus commands His Kingdom people to be "pure in spirit" He is capturing the same idea. It does the text no injustice to say, "Blessed are those who are not spiritually distracted".

Esteemed Bible scholar and teacher, Dr. William Barclay, shares these helpful insights into the Sixth Beatitude:

"Here is the beatitude which demands that every man who reads it should stop, and think, and examine himself.

The Greek word for pure is "katharos", and it has a variety of usages, all of which have something to add to the meaning of this beatitude for the Christian life.

(i) Originally it simply meant clean, and could, for instance, be used or soiled clothes which have been washed clean.

(ii) It is regularly used for corn which has been winnowed or sifted and cleansed of all chaff. In the same way it is used of an army which has been purged of all discontented, cowardly, unwilling and inefficient soldiers, and which is a force composed solely of first-class fighting men.

(iii) It very commonly appears in company with another Greek adjective--"akiratos". Akiratos can be used of milk or wine which is unadulterated with water, or of metal which has in it no tinge of alloy.

So, then, the basic meaning of "katharos" is unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed. That is why this beatitude is so demanding a beatitude. It could be translated:

"Blessed is the man whose motives are always entirely unmixed, for that man shall see God."

When I read this I think of what James says in his Epistle: "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8


So as you begin to get you mind around this idea of heart purity, let's begin here. Purity is having motives that are single-minded. Obviously, when your motives are clear your vision will be more keen as well.


Just as you can't be looking at your phone and focused on the highway, you can't be focused on the world and clearly focused on God.


You can't be thinking about your phone message and have your mind purely focused on driving can you?


Where will you fix your focus today?


If you want to see God clearly, clear the clutter out of your spirit.