:: Jesus, in his introduction to a collection of teachings commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, begins with a series of strange sayings… ‘Fortunate are the spiritually bankrupt. Fortunate are those who are wracked by grief. Fortunate are the un-vengeful oppressed, the persecuted…’
In the midst of this unique introduction, he says this: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’
Which sounds nice… makes sense… More sense than many of the others, anyway. But what does this little statement really even mean? In the Jewish understanding, to see God was synonymous with knowing God… ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will know God.’
But, who are the ‘Pure in Heart’? How does one become pure in heart? How do we reconcile this idea with Paul in Rom. 3; ‘There is no one righteous…’ or ‘for all have sinned’? – Who are these hypothetically Pure-hearted ones? What if I want to see/know God? What hope is there for me? The UNpure? The broken? The beaten up? The ashamed?
In fact, were we to look at it, we would find that the sermon on the mount is absolutely FULL of seemingly impossible demands: ‘Unless you are more righteous then the Pharisees… you will not enter the
It is at this point that I begin to wonder… Maybe this is exactly the point? What if the Law, and now Jesus, was never so much meant as a ‘color by numbers’ moral code, but rather a glimpse into the character of God, that we might come to realize our own brokenness, come to face our own inability to do anything about it, and so cast ourselves his grace and mercy in light of how far we fall short? (blessed are the poor in spirit… the spiritually bankrupt)
In this, I begin to understand Jesus’ statement about the pure in heart… For how might any of us ever hope to be pure in heart, unless it is through the work of God in us?
And why is it that those who are pure in heart will see/KNOW God? Perhaps it is that as we seek to become pure-hearted, we are forced to let God IN? Perhaps it is in that cleaning process that we start to become familiar with the one who is doing the cleaning… Perhaps it is as we allow him to root around inside of us and cast the rubbish to the curb that we actually begin to know his character… on display through his purifying work; those things that he keeps and cleans, and those things that he simply throws away.
Much like the heart and soul of an artist is most poignantly communicated through their art, perhaps it is that the heart and character of God is best experienced through his work in us. Perhaps we grow in knowledge of God through this process of cleansing and transformation because, through it, we are growing more and more LIKE him.
As we explore and wonder at what this process is like… what it gives and what it demands of us, we are forced to come to a startling conclusion: God isn’t interested in being your friend.
Jesus isn’t interested in being your buddy, your acquaintance, or your crush. God isn’t interested in our charming religious flirtation… He isn’t satisfied with a couple Friday nights a month; a nice meal, a couple drinks and a good laugh. No… this God with whom we are dealing is looking for intimacy. God wants to be KNOWN… He wants to hold you close, take you to church, put a ring on you finger, and then get you in bed.
He wants to get into every pore, every wound, into the deepest and darkest and most vulnerable places of our souls… and there forge a connection of love as has changes us from the inside out.
In Luke chapter 9 Jesus asks his disciples; ‘I know what the crowds are saying, but who do YOU say that I am?’
Are we going to do this thing? How serious are you? Do you want to KNOW me, or are you content to just know ABOUT me? Are you in, or are you out?
‘Take up your cross and follow me.’ Because I don’t want you to date me… I need you to die for me; to die WITH me. Will you lay down your life? Surrender your sovereignty? Admit your inability? Let me inside? Because this is the only way you will ever truly know what it is to be alive.
God doesn’t want to be your friend. God is a lover. He isn’t satisfied with SOME of you; he wants it all. This isn’t a business agreement. It’s not a matter of good behavior and reward. This journey is a relationship. This is a marriage, and it is helpful to think of it in that way.
I didn’t marry my wife once. I’m married to her every day. And every morning is a decision about whether I will choose to live in that reality or not. Will I seek to grow in knowledge and love and sacrifice today? Will I die for her? Or not?
Jesus invites us to the altar today. This relationship will demand that we give him ALL of ourselves… our flaws, ambitions and dreams… But he has already given us all of himself. And that is enough. That is life itself, if we could only open our hands to receive it.
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