“What does this blessing thing mean? Will I have oodles of money? I need money. My job had to shut down because of this nationwide health crisis. I really need the money.”
I’m certain that there were those who heard Jesus say these words that thought their greatest need in that moment was funds to take care of their family with, too. Unsure if they’d have work the next day, not knowing if they would have enough to feed their children.
It was to these that Jesus said, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”
The Amplified Bible expands the translation of the original languages to cause the English to explain what was meant. So many of those original words denoted concepts, not just the word. Let’s see how Matthew 5:8 is translated there.
“Blessed — happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous–possessing the happiness produced by
the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their
outward conditions — are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!”
So, if we are pure in heart, we will be:
Happy
Enviably fortunate
Spiritually prosperous
We will possess the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor
We will be especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of our outward conditions
“That’s nice, Faye. Where’s the money? I told you I need the money.”
We KNOW what we need, right? I think it’s more that as we look at our outward conditions, we THINK we know what we need. Remember those who came to Jesus for physical healing and He gave them the eternal soul healing as well? He knew what their real need was and provided it.
Here Jesus said those who are pure in heart (we’ll discuss this in a minute) will be enviably fortunate. Does that mean money or does it mean walking through situations with peace? Does it mean having all we want or does it mean having every need met? I believe that word enviably means that our “fortune” will be obvious to others. The peace, health, joy, life, laughter, all the intangibles our God freely gives, will be noticed by those who don’t have them and they will envy what we have. Does that include money? Maybe. But I think it’s so much more than money — it’s HIM.
Oh, my friend! To have happiness that is produced by the experience of God’s favor? To even experience God’s favor? Sign me up!!! Imagine being so conditioned by the revelation of His grace, not once, but as an ongoing experience, that outward conditions can’t mar it. Imagine not worrying about what is happening around you, even though you care deeply about it. Imagine knowing the things you need, money, home, healing, etc, but not being worried about when or where those things will come about.
These are available to you, even in this moment.
Pure in heart? How can WE be pure in heart?
I believe there is only one way. It is through the application of the blood of Jesus to our wayward hearts. It requires the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary where He died for our sins. It’s belief that on the third day He rose again. It’s understanding that He is now alive and seated with the Father, always advocating for us. It’s speaking our belief aloud, declaring where we stand.
It is through salvation that our hearts are made truly pure. It is through the ongoing relationship with Him through reading the scriptures, prayer, and gathering with other believers that we maintain that purity.
Pure in heart? Those who are pure in heart will not only experience the blessings discussed above. They will SEE God. They will SEE GOD! Does that mean that God visibly shows up in their living rooms to discuss the happenings of the day? Probably not. But we do have the assurance that those who are in Christ Jesus will spend the part of eternity after our time on earth with God… in His presence. We will see God.
If you haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus, have never experienced the salvation He offers, contact me. We can talk about it.
If you’ve experienced His salvation, but you’ve wandered from that close relationship, trust me, you can go back to Him. He offers forgiveness and cleansing that makes you one of those with a pure heart.
Let’s examine us today. Are there any of our ways that are displeasing to the Savior? Let’s determine that we will put that away and move closer to our Lord. Let’s get this blessing and make our plans to SEE God Almighty Himself.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.