“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt 5:8)

A pure Heart. How could I ever hope to possess such a treasure? My heart is the most twisted, sick and malformed part of me. It is so deeply hidden and protected that it is impossible for me to know its true condition. Moses got a terrifying shock when God directed him to “Put your hand inside your cloak.” When he pulled it out, it was in the advanced stages of leprosy! This was a sign to the Israelites, but mostly to Moses, that inside his heart, something was very, very wrong. It is most humbling, and hopeful to realize that what was revelation to Moses was not revelation to God. He knew Moses through and through, from the height of his humility – he was pointed out as being the meekest man on the whole earth – to the depths of his depravity. Yet God was STILL calling him to be the leader of His chosen people. God sure loves to take chances, doesn’t He.

Scripture abounds with the testimonies of men and women of God who came, by grace, to the crucial realization that they were not all that they had thought themselves to be. Their “I have a heart wholly given to God!” declaration was silenced by the acknowledgment that their self-assessment was fatally flawed.

Job – “I abhor (m. utter disgust and extreme repugnance) myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6)

David – “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from faults that I know nothing about.” (Ps 19:12)

Jeremiah – “The heart is the most deceitful thing there is, and desperately sick. Who can comprehend it?” (Jer 17:9)

Thankfully, Father God is not in any way put off by the ruined condition of our hearts. He knows what we are capable of, He observes it every day. But all of His rejection and revulsion toward our sin has all been poured out on His Son on the Cross. It is gone! So today we can receive nothing but His Joyful, Hopeful positive assessment and affirmation. Again, Scriptures abound:

“If anyone is in Christ, they become a New Creation. All the old things are gone forever, everything has become New!” (2 Cor 5:17)

“Jesus, Who never sinned at all, became The Sinner for our sake – He took our sin away from us and put it on Himself -  so that we can become His Righteousness, in Him!” (2 Cor 5:21)

In Christ, we go from very, very bad, to very, very Good. And what is the key to walking this out in life? The two little words: “In Him.”

If the snake-bitten Israelites in the desert went from dying to living simply by looking at their Savior on a pole, so we also can know a Resurrection of Life as we keep the eyes of our hearts “fixed” on Jesus. How does the change happen? I don’t know, it’s a Mystery. I just know that it is True. I can feel myself changing! The Spirit works out the process as I keep Jesus firmly in my view. “As we fix our gaze intently on the Glory of Jesus, the most amazing thing happens - we become like Him, more glory and more glory every day! That is how the Spirit transforms us.” (2 Cor 3:18)

Whew! I am so thankful that God has worked out the details. He has “undone the works of the devil.” (1 Jn 3:8) He has reversed the effects of the Fall! So today you and I can walk, not in death, but in Life; not in the dark, but in the Light. And our view of our Beautiful God is becoming clearer and clearer.