Pure Heart

A pure heart is a vital ingredient to a blessed life and home (Matthew 5:8). In fact, the condition of our heart – that place of our desires, emotions, choices, and motives – is so important that we are taught to guard it above anything else (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus is clear that those with a pure heart not only receive blessing, but they will see God. The challenge, however, is that there is no such thing as partial purity; something is either pure or impure. If we are not careful, we can easily believe the lie that we are mostly pure, that if we polish up our behavior externally that we are deemed pure internally. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for being clean on the outside but full of greed and self-indulgence on the inside (Matthew 23:25-26). Thankfully, Jesus offers us purity and cleansing through relationship with Him. When we confess our impurity and sin in repentance, it is His blood that cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-10). His desire for us is that we give Him all of our heart, as well as all of our soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37).