This one is a little harder to cover without going on for days. Pure in heart; who is pure in heart? Can anyone be truly pure in heart? Jeremiah 17:9 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” So, if the heart is deceitful, how can anyone be pure in heart?

As I dug deeper I discovered Jesus talked a lot about the heart and actions. Matthew15:18, says “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” The point is not that I have a pure heart in the sense that I never have a bad thought, it’s more about what your heart is set on.

The Greek word ‘pure’ translated is ‘καθαρός’. Transliteration: katharos, and is also translated ‘clean’.

When confronting the Pharisees, Jesus brought up their actions and how that was an example of what was in their heart.

See – Matt 23:25-28 for examples.

The message I take from this is, in my words, “Those that focus on having a clean and pure heart before God will be happy. By their actions and words they will be known and will, in spirit, see the Creator now as well as physically see Him in eternity.”

This pure heart is a gift in itself. We see in the scriptures that we do not have a pure heart in and of ourselves, so it is a gift from God. As part of the steps towards a good and Godly life, daily prayer and the drawing close to God through the study of His word is how we go about getting a clean or pure heart.

~ Chaplain Buddy Strachan