Pure + Heart = Happiness

Matthew 5:8 Blessed and happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

I have been studying the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5 and I’ve come to realize that what Jesus said in His 9 happy instructions are not that easy to live by. Well, they are not accomplishable without Jesus anyway. And getting ourselves out of the way and letting Jesus do it through us is challenging.

And number 6 in the way to happiness list is about actually experiencing being in the presence of God. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses from Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

I like being happy. I like having access to God. I need having access to God to experience all the joy I can.

It all boils down to having a pure heart.

Now you know how geeky I get with the Greek words. Well here “pure heart” is: katharos kardia (Hey, you don’t have to know how to pronounce it, just know that it is put together.) And what I found interesting is that these two words are put together 3 times in the New Testament:

             Matt. 5:8 - (That’s the beatitude.) Happy are those with a pure heart for they shall see God.

            1 Tim. 1:5 – But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.   

           

            2 Tim. 2:22 – Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.

“Pure” here means clean and free from the contamination of sin.

“Heart” here means your very core seat of your physical and spiritual life.

So “pure heart” is a life free from sin inside and outside. It is holiness. And only holiness can be in the presence of our holy God. My Sunday School Teacher Eddie says that everyday should be set apart and kept holy for God. So everyday we should be in His presence.

So how do we get rid of the sin in our lives that keeps us from being accepted into His presence? How can we everyday experience this happiness by being with God? Sorry, we can’t get rid of this sin on our own. We can’t clean ourselves up enough to have a pure heart. Oh rats! It’s not possible.

Is there no way to be in the happy company of God? Yes. Jesus, Himself, said that He was the way to the presence of the Holy Father.(John 14:6) We just let Him forgive us and clean our hearts. We let Him be the holiness for us. We just stand behind His pure heart as we go into God’s presence. With His forgiveness we have a pure heart too.

So here are 2 mathematical equations for geeky me:

Jesus + Forgiveness = Pure Heart

Pure + Heart = Happiness