Daughter in Waiting Ministry

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

At the start of the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us that those who are poor in spirit are those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven. A few verses later, He ups the stakes by telling us that those who come to God with pure hearts are those who will see Him. But, what does seeing God entail? We know through John 1:18 that no one has ever seen God in the flesh except for Jesus, who is at the Father’s side. Through Jesus, the Heavenly Father has been made known.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14:9 (ESV)

As I’ve meditated on the blessing of this beatitude, I realize that the promise isn’t in physically seeing the living God. The blessing is in walking with Him, communicating with Him, knowing Him, and discovering Him and His kingdom. The blessing is in being spiritually aligned with God who can only be worshiped and known in spirit (John 4:24). 

We see God through our hearts by having faith in Him, because faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God (Romans 10:17). It takes authenticity and humility to approach that which we do not know and be willing to understand it. Not only that, but my faith has required me not to lean on my own understanding and to rely on His Spirit to guide me. The hidden nature of God’s kingdom makes it so we are encouraged to choose – in our own free will – to seek God.

He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Luke 8:10 (ESV)

God brought this scripture to my attention weeks ago and I’ve been meditating on it consistently since then. When I read Luke 8:10 in context with the above beatitude, it confirms to me that a believer is blessed to see or to know God when they come to believe in His word. Jesus was adamant on telling us about the effect a hardened heart can have towards receiving the word of God through the Parable of the Sower.

The Parable of the Sower

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:3-9 (NIV)

In this parable, Jesus tells us of four heart postures that one can have towards God and His word. He goes on to further explain what each heart posture is in Matthew 13:18-23.

• The first heart posture is the one who hears the word of God and chooses not to understand it by relying on their own understanding. We know that faith requires us to lean on His. Because of this hardened heart or unwillingness to hear God, it’s easy for the enemy or the world to distract them and grab their attention away from God.
• The second heart posture is the one who receives the word of God joyfully but doesn’t stay grounded in hearing the word. Their time with God is inconsistent or stagnant and so, as for any relationship, their connection with God also becomes inconsistent or stagnant. A solid foundation is not built and therefore their  relationship with God isn’t strengthened. It’s easy to walk away from something we hold no true value for.
• The third heart posture is the one who receives the word, has a solid foundation with God, but allows the concerns of this world to affect the way in which they continue to receive the word. As a result, the connection with God can crumble because there are things that are deemed more important to focus on outside of God.
• The fourth heart posture is the one that is on solid foundation and takes the time to understand the word and to form a relationship with God. This heart posture does not allow the world to affect the way in which it receives the word. This one chooses to place their focus on the things above rather than the things that are of this world as scripture tells us to in Colossians 3:2.

As believers, we can waiver from all four of these heart postures at any given season. I’ve gone through all of them at different stages of my life and my walk with God. Recently, God showed me that my current heart posture falls under the ‘third’ one mentioned in The Parable of the Sower. The cares of this world have been great for me to bear and they’ve affected my ability to hear and receive His word. At times, I’ve felt too angry, sad, or disappointed to hear Him. But, in my walk with God, I always make it a point to go directly to Him with all of my emotions, good or bad. God has always allowed me to bring to Him my true self. He never wants an inauthentic version of ourselves. 

To be pure in heart does not mean to be fully loving of God. It does not mean to be fully understanding of God. It means to have a willingness to try. It’s a genuine and humble heart posture that says I will come to Him wholeheartedly as I currently am. I find it comforting that the beatitudes show us that the less we are or come with, the more we gain from the living God who is willing and able to give and meet all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). 

A pure heart does not require us to present our ‘best selves’ to God. The Parable of the Sower isn’t meant to condemn the believer (Romans 8:1), but to convict. Our walk with God requires an authenticity that only comes with humility. The pure heart comes to God and says this is where I am so help me understand you, even here.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8 (ESV)

Sincerely,

Anne