What does it mean to be pure in heart? Is it really attainable as a child of God? I have often thought about this verse and every time I read it, I tend to think that surely Jesus is not referring to me. After all, I am a sinner who daily struggles to walk in purity and righteousness. Then the Spirit voice inside of me reminds me that with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. In other words because of the blood of Jesus alone and His grace, as a child of God, I am pure. I now am the righteousness of God. It's not about perfection or being sinless, but about knowing Jesus and His forgiveness of sin. The truth is that daily we wrestle with being in this fleshly body with its carnal desires. Rebirth is not of the flesh but of the Spirit. One is not born again a second time through the womb, but through the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word translated "pure" in Matthew 5:8 is katharos, the noun form of katharizo, which means: "to cleanse." In a moral sense, it speaks of being free from the filth of sin. Katharos is akin to the Latin word castus, which is the root of the English word "chaste." In Matthew 5:8, it refers to a cleansed heart. Katharos can also refer to something that is unmixed, unalloyed, or unadulterated. This term in Greek was sometimes applied to milk or wine which is unadulterated with water, or of metal which had been refined until all impurities were removed. So, we might think of pure meaning unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed. In Matthew 5:8, it would refer to a heart unmixed in its devotion and motives. In that sense, "pure in heart" would refer to singleness of heart as opposed to double-mindedness. To be pure in heart means more than avoiding outward sins, it means avoiding double-mindedness. Double-mindedness is like a cancer of the spirit. It slowly eats away at your spiritual life until there is no real life left.
I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus and now my single minded purpose is to gaze on His beauty and His righteousness, and in this place I am transformed by His glory. Jesus help us to be single minded today in everything we do. Grace us with your presence and your purity. We long to see You.
