We sing a song that says, “Purer in heart, O God, help me to be; may I devote my life wholly to Thee.” In Matthew 5:8, Jesus extols this virtue of purity: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Jesus was emphasizing the inner person, the motive, the “heart.” A pure heart can only be achieved through God. He cleanses our consciences through the blood of Jesus. But it is also a goal for which we should strive as a Christian. God’s word is entirely directed toward this goal, and purity of heart is a constant challenge to every Christian. God desires for each of us is totally realistic.

Generally, we think of purity as cleanness. However, there is more to be considered regarding the meaning of purity. Consider some alternative definitions of the word: not mixed, free from impurities, full-strength, free from foreign elements, containing nothing inappropriate, and of unmixed blood or ancestry. So “pure” can refer to that which is clean, unmixed, or unadulterated. This is what God wants for our hearts! So, how can we develop pure hearts for the Lord? There are three points that I’d like to consider.

First, keep your thoughts clean. The key to accomplishing this is by keeping a tight rein on what is allowed into our minds. (Phil 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”) Those instructions sound simple enough, but the weakness of our flesh makes it a challenge to follow. The world wants us to warp our minds with things that are false and impure. God wants us to focus our attention on good, wholesome thoughts. It’s our responsibility to choose what we allow in our minds.

Second, keep your motives pure. We must not pretend to love God; we must actually love Him. We must not pretend to be compassionate and friendly; we must genuinely love our neighbors and want to do good for them. We must sincerely love our spouse and children and serve them faithfully. We must endeavor to obey God for reasons that are entirely right, rather than letting ulterior motives creep in (cf. Matt. 22: 37-40; 23:5-7; Phil. 1:15-17). A good test of motive is to ask the question: What good things do I do when there will be no knowledge of it by others? We must try not to let our love for God be stained with love for the praise of men. To be complemented and encouraged is fine, but such must not be the reason why we seek to do good. We should do good that they may glorify our Father in heaven (cf. Matt. 5:16).

Third, keep yourself committed. To be genuinely committed to something requires mental devotion and not just a certain physical action that is practiced as a habit. Our desire should be to uproot any weeds in our life that might compete with our dedication to the Lord (cf. Matt. 13:22). The Lord must be our chief priority if we expect Him to accept us! (Matt. 22:37-38). There is no other way to purity self than the way of absolute commitment! When our dedication to the Lord waivers, our purity becomes tainted. To be holy for God demands that we be wholly (entirely) His!

 

I believe the key to a pure heart is keeping one’s thoughts clean, motives pure, and staying committed to the Lord. My prayer is that we strive daily for a pure heart and petition God for His help.