By David ReayThursday 22 Oct 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. (NIV)
It is said that an avowed atheist doesn’t find God for the same reason a thief doesn’t find a policeman: he isn’t eager to find him! We can so often ‘miss out’ on God because we are distracted by so many other pursuits.
When Jesus speaks of purity of heart, he is not basically referring to sexual morality, important though that is. To be pure is to be free of contamination of any sort: and so we speak of pure sugar or pure water.
To ‘see God’ is not to visibly or literally see him but rather it is to discern how he is working. I am more likely to discern God at work, to see things from his perspective, if I am single-mindedly pursuing him. So many other things can clutter our minds and demand our attention that we can let them crowd out the work of God in us and others.
It is a bit like junk food spoiling our appetite for good nutritious food. Materialism, lack of mercy, sexual addictions, corrosive anxiety, people pleasing—all this can keep us from seeing God at work in our lives. He is certainly actively at work, but we will never know it if our eyes and ears and minds are focussed elsewhere.
Blessings
David Reay