The Pure Heart

Do you have a pure heart?

This is something that I am definitely working on, but will never be perfected until I see my Jesus in all His Glory.

But I’m okay with that.

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain in Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes from faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by all means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made it his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” Philippians 3:7-13

I’ve been meditating on what it means to have a pure heart for the past week. Slowly God has been revealing verses that speak to my heart, teaching me and breaking me in ways that only he can. The verse above has been really powerful to me this week, in many ways. I thought I would share with you what I have learned from Paul’s words.

1. Nothing Else Matters: To have a pure heart is to count as rubbish all things that exult you, and not Him. I confess that I am full of pride; it’s a disease that has infected my soul and spread to the tips of my hairs and the bottoms of my feet. I pray for humility and ten minutes later I gloat in my heart at my “achievements”. I have been begging Christ for humility, something that I will be begging for the rest of my life. I know that I cannot have a pure heart if it’s infected with pride. I long to lay down my own desires, my own ambitions, and my own joys: the things that overwhelm my time, my energy, and my thoughts. I long to lay them all down for his desire, his ambition, and his joy. Lord, I’m too weak to do even this, to make you my priority and destroy my righteousness; only you can produce this change within me.

2. Righteous by Faith: Something that I struggle with is denying my own righteousness and still finding joy in the God-sanctioned righteousness that I do have, produced by faith alone. I know that this righteousness has nothing to do with my own actions, even the act of having faith is produced by God, and this righteousness is a gift that was made possible at the cross. But, I must acknowledge this righteousness, and the fact that I am pure because of the blood that was shed on the cross for me. This is something that must not be taken lightly, and a pure heart wakes up every day and acknowledges their righteousness, on their knees at the foot of the cross. I am free from sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice. A pure heart does not defile their clean slate because they know that it will always be clean, rather, they seek to obey their Father. In faith they seek to become righteous like Jesus, the one who gives them the ability to truly act as if they are white as snow.

3. We are not perfect: There is a reason Jesus died on the cross, and it is because we are not perfect. Paul admits in Philippians that he is not perfect, but it is something that he strives for everyday. We will fall, we will sin, and we will defile our clean slates. But, after seeking forgiveness from our Father we must press on. Paul says we must forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. This week I have become overwhelmed, how can I have a pure heart with all my sinful thoughts and unkind words and actions? God has been teaching me that to be broken over my sin is to have a pure heart. To strive for perfection and have faith that it will one day be brought to completion (in His time) is to have a pure heart. To beg at the feet of our Father for a pure heart, even though we feel infested with sin and impurities, is to have a pure heart.

Do you have a pure heart?

My prayer is that by reading this you have realized that you do, through Him who has made us this way.