A Pure Heart

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.

In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God,

but by their actions deny Him.” ~Titus 1:15-16

            A pure mind and a pure heart—these, I want. Not for my own glory but for the glory of my King, Jesus Christ. I desire to have a pure heart all the time, no matter what the circumstances are and who I am with. I want to live and see everybody I meet just as Jesus Christ sees them. I want to look at my enemies and see Jesus in them. I want to love and think like Jesus that those who do not know may know Him through me and in me.

            Pure. About two years ago, Jesus worked in my heart to let me know His standards of purity in earthly relationships. The purity He requires includes not only what the world sees as sexual purity but also physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and all-aspects-of-my-being purity.

            This time around, God is telling me to check my mind and my heart and to make sure that His purity is also present there. This is not purity in earthly relationship but purity in my relationship with Him as well as in my relationships with believers and unbelievers. This is purity in my totality as a Christian, as a believer, as His follower. I believe, with all Godly audacity, that this is in preparation to His making of me as His mighty soldier.

            A word as simple as pure is easy to understand that sometimes, I tend to lose the real meaning of it. A quick search for its synonyms gave me two eye-opening words: wholesome and nourishing. Another click and I got spotless and faithful. And another search gave me undamaged and unpolluted. I asked the Lord for more and He gave this: without malice.

            If this is God’s standards, then, I am a wretched soul. Too many times I’ve looked at a person and all I see is his damaged and broken self. This is not spiritually nourishing to me but to the person as well. Too many times I’ve interpreted someone’s words or deeds in a very negative way. Indeed, this is not faithful to the command in the Bible that a Christian is to think only of whatever is pure, whatever is holy, whatever is noble. Too many times I’ve doubted a believer or an unbeliever. Certainly, this is not wholesome. There were times, too, that my mind was so quick to think of what might possibly happen in a very malicious way. This is damaged and polluted.  

            All these show that I am still self-righteous and I still lack trust in my Lord.

            But because God is a just and loving God, He wants me to sincerely get rid of all these, not by my own strength but by the strength and righteousness of Jesus Christ. And I praise Him for this opportunity to grow in His love. I praise Him and thank Him because He loves me so much He does not want me to remain in my old sinful self.