Jesus made, to the “great multitudes” that had gathered to Him on that incredible day on the front end of His earthly ministry, an audacious promise. Really, the promise Jesus made to those who labored to cultivate a pure heart cannot truly be appreciated by a modern audience. The Jewish audience that had come from the southern boundaries of modern Turkey to the borders of Egypt were understandably stunned at His teaching. I, personally, find it shocking that the multitudes were “astonished”, as Matthew says (Matt. 7:28-29), at His teaching and His authority. Why am I shocked? Because Matthew tells us that they gathered to Him in the first place because of His fame that had spread throughout the region related to Hid unprecedented displays of power to heal and deliver the sick and tormented.
He healed “all kinds” of sickness and “all kinds” of disease among the people. (Matt. 4:23) Yet they saved their “astonishment” for His teaching. Imagine laying hands on someone and dramatically healing them, only to have them be astonished more by your sermon afterwards. That, in my opinion, is authority in teaching. It is also the point of revival and signs and wonders - not that we would pursue them as an end unto themselves, but that they would serve as a gateway to bring people into stunning truth and propel them into a rich and vibrant relationship with the living God. In many ways, the whole of Jesus sermon and ministry was about this incredible promise found in the beatitudes.
What was so stunning about the promise?
Simply this: Jesus said that the pure in heart would see God. He did not put a qualifier on it. He did not add, “…after the resurrection.” For the Jew (and for the theologically-minded), this promise then was unthinkable. God Himself had said to Moses in Exodus 33:20 that “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” How to reconcile this divine paradox? Was Jesus contradicting the Father? Now we can understand a bit better the astonishment of the Jews and the authority (and audacity) of Jesus to promise such a thing. For we know, as One who only did what He saw the Father doing, that the Father Himself is the initiator of the invitation and promise. If I CAN see God, than I want to pursue the possibility in THIS life. How far will He let me go in pursuing Him?
This is the essence of “pure in heart”. To be pure in heart is more than being clean in heart. To be pure in heart is to be of singular desire, to be engaged in wholehearted pursuit. To be pure in heart is to want nothing more or less than God Himself. God will give you the desire of your heart - He longs to give you your exceedingly great reward. That He desires to give me the absolute best reward possible is the reason that He Himself is the reward. It is not enough, however, to set this promise aside as an esoteric future reality relegated to “someday”. The measure to which you desire God in your life now is the measure to which you can have God in your life now.
“Hungering and thirsting for righteousness” is about, in part, God transforming our desires and what we hunger for to line up with His desires. The transformation of our desires has, in the plans of God, a destination, a place He longs to take us in the journey of love and what we cultivate in our hearts. The end of the journey is a complete and total, all-consuming desire for God Himself and nothing else. No competing desires, no love for the things of this life, and no friendship with this world. What a destination! This is where I want to go and what I want my life to be about, with all of my heart. I want to be truly abandoned and fully given. I want this and pursue this in the hopes that this audacious promise could somehow be true - that I might, in my life, see God.
I want to see Him as John did in Revelation 4. I want to see Him as Paul did in Acts 9. I want to see Him as Daniel did in Daniel 7. I want to see Him as Ezekiel did in Ezekiel 1. I want to see Him as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6. I want to see Him as Moses did in Exodus 33. All of these men saw God before they died, before they were resurrected, and before they were glorified. I could add many more to this list. Why not me? Why can’t I take the promise of Jesus seriously and make my life’s pursuit, my “life’s work” as it were, the labor of longing, cultivating, and pursuing - whose payoff is the possibility of seeing God with my eyes and being marked in my heart forever?
So it is that I weep at times in regards to the responsibilities the Lord gives me. I trust His leadership. I love His ways. I will be faithful and diligent (in my weakness) and labor daily to maximize the talents He has given me to establish a kingdom value system in whatever it is I put my hands to. Yet I cannot shut off the yearning within me. I cannot ignore the pain of my heart, and the secret fear that grips me - what if God, in His perfect leadership, is raising me up as an example to many, an example of how easy it is to get thrown off course? What if part of my purpose is to teach the generation that follows how hard it is and how narrow the way is? There is more of a price to be paid. There is more of a cost for me to lay hold of. There is a deeper and more intense place of holiness I must yet find by grace.
I am trembling, but hungry. I am weak, but resolved within myself. I am carnal, immature, and foolish. Yet I have this advantage - by grace I see the way ahead, and the destination that is alive as the dream of my heart. I know what I long for, more than money, comfort, honor, fame, and even the power and blessing of God. I know what I want my life to be about, and I will fight the good fight with the best of my strength to lay hold of something more than flowery prayer language and the ability to teach a few scripture passages. I want God.
One thing I desire, that will I seek.
