“He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.”
Proverbs 22:11 ESV
“”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8 ESV
Have you ever wondered where your innocence, joy and your kind heart went to? Do you ever look back and try to recall times when you loved and gave so freely before circumstances turned you cold? Due to the hurt and pain we may have experienced we have grown cold and perhaps even vowed never to be kind. Today we want to rekindle that purity and beauty of our hearts, let’s dive into the Word.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks the Bible says (Mathew 12:34). What we say reflects the state of our hearts and our character . As kids growing up, we were taught to be kind, giving, respectful, loving and more . But as we get older so many wounds make us close up, or even shut down on certain kind acts we were acquainted with. Today Beloved, what we must realize is that daily as we live, our acts shows the kind of fruit we are bearing. Jesus in Mathew 12, rebukes the Pharisees who thought could hide their true identity behind their words. What Jesus reveals to them is that the words were merely words as the state of their hearts were weighed against them. This is the reason, many believers are mere hypocrites, we have accumulated so much wisdom, we speak good but truly our hearts are empty, and small. Because the efficacy of what we say stems from our inward transformation. Hence a good fruit as Jesus said produces good and a bad one also after its kind. This is why some claiming to be believers, remain in the shackles of unforgiveness, bitterness, malice and more.The purity of the heart, backs our works and makes them valid. This is what radiates the light and beauty we carry within. When our works go through fire or weighed, the state of our hearts backing what we did is what makes it count. Hence the purity of the heart translates into gracious words drawing people to us, even kings.
God desires for us to have defying encounters with Him, to make us effective witnesses. Let us secure His presence by calling on him from a pure heart. ”Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.“
Hebrews 10:22-23 ESV
Not only does the state of heart spread the light to draw men, but it draws us closer to God. Job, was one whose affliction never defiled his heart. The devil was granted permission to destroy all he had even to his health, but his heart remained pure. Intent is weighed by the measure of love the heart embodies. Jesus said, where your treasure is there your heart will be(Mathew 6:21). This story of treasures does not only refer to wealth but also the dealings of life we allow to affect our hearts. This is why many will not be counted worthy to make it to heaven, we may have done great works but ignored to storehouse of the heart. Many will say on that day ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'(Matthew 7:22 ESV)
And He will say unto them I knew you not. These are the most anxious words the so called believer would not want to hear. But until we can truly build our relationship with God from a pure heart and seek him out of a pure conscience, this is how true intimacy makes impact. So then Paul charges in 1 Timothy 1:5-7 ESV
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”
Let us then be confident in this, that our hearts are with the right intent in what we do, therefore we are diligent in securing its purity by disallowing circumstances define its state. Good morning Beloved.