I suspect everybody wants to have it all when they’re young… Maybe a man shouldn’t have it when he’s young. It robs him of something, giving him all he can have when he’s too young to know what he’s got.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Man From the Broken Hills)
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
–2 Timothy 2:22 (ESV)
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“Oh! to be like Thee!
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”
–Thomas O. Chisholm
Last week we looked in our study on the Beatitudes signs of an impure heart. Phillips translates Matthew 5:8, this way, “Happy are the utterly sincere, for they will see God.” Sincerity in its completeness. When we sincerely want God’s image to be our image, when we want Him stamped “deep on our hearts” then we are utterly sincere. So how do we become, and remain pure?
Psalm 32:2 reminds us, “Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” (NIV) The pure heart, one with no deceit in it. It is sincere, and one way to think about it, the heart breathes after purity. Sin is vile and foul to the pure in heart, and they refuse to entertain it at all. They do not even want the hint of sin to be around them. They abhor sin and will avoid the appearance of evil.
Separation is a key, as we have already discussed earlier. To be separate from evil is to have a pure heart. We prepare ourselves and guard our hearts by watching our steps, our actions, our mouths. With a pure heart there will be outward signs, one of which is a deep reverence for the things of God. Paul reminds us, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, NIV) There are things for us to be doing. It is not magical, but it takes effort and discipline. No, it is not self-flagellation, but a desire to be like God.
Where do we start? With the Word of God. We must look often into the Word of God. Sometimes it might be a brief check as we leave the house, other times, we must spend time in front of the mirror of God’s Word. Thomas Watson declares that, “The Word is both a looking-glass to show us the spots of our souls–and a laver to wash them away!” We have already been made pure (justification) by the blood of Christ, but we should never forget that we should often bathe in the Word of God.
Faith! Faith is always one of the key elements in any part of the Christian’s walk. We read in Acts, “And made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (15:9, NKJV) Faith helps us purify our hearts. We walk by faith, we work by faith, we serve by faith, we sleep by faith–in other words, our life should be marked by a life of faith. Then we breathe after the Holy Spirit. As Chisholm wrote, “Stamp Thine own image…”. The image of Christ, or the image of self as we walk through this world. Do not be close to the world, that will do nothing but tarnish the heart, not purify it. “Beware of the society of the wicked,” warns Thomas Watson. Yet, so many seek the thrills, the haunts, and the seeming excitement of the places of the world. Walk, my friend, with those who are pure, not with those who are sordid, not with those who would sully your heart.
O to be like Thee! Blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
T.O. Chisholm suggests that to be like Christ we must forfeit earth’s treasures. Not just forfeit them, but “gladly” do it. A pure heart–stay away from ungodly people, stay away from the stench and stain of evil, and then breathe in the freshness of the Holy Spirit and walk with those who are themselves pure in heart.