Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Our hearts have become so compromised and cluttered over the years that we don't quite know what to do with Jesus' words about a pure heart. We agree that it would certainly be a blessing to have one, but how do we make our hearts pure again?
Little help is given by the fundamentalists who call us to lots of rules and regulations for life. Jesus was hardest of all on those who reduced purity to looking good on the outside. It isn't the appearance of purity that is a blessing, but a pure heart. One of the marks of having a pure heart is that you don't care about appearances anymore. Ironically, you don't even care about purity. If you did, your heart wouldn't be pure.
More help is provided by the medieval monastics, who devoted their time trying to purify their hearts through prayer. But the purpose of this for the monks was never for the sake of purity itself. It was only to remove those elements that make it hard to see God. This is why confession is such an important component of the spiritual life. It is a way of cleaning house so you can recover the treasure that lies buried within.
We call you to confession every Sunday, not because we are trying to hammer you as a bad person, but because we want you to remove enough heart clutter to see that God is already dwelling with you. It is he alone who makes the heart pure.
-- Craig Barnes