Most of us love to laugh. This is why we enjoy silly, outrageous movies, games and books. Laughing unleashes a feeling of well-being inside our souls. Belly laughing is even considered cathartic, which is an English word that originates from the Greek katharsis, or “to cleanse or purge.”

Interestingly, Jesus spoke about clean, purged hearts in His Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8) is the sixth Beatitude, one of eight blessings in Jesus’ first sermon.

As You Wish

In the 1987 movie The Princess Bride, the most memorable line repeatedly spoken by the farmhand Westley to his beloved is, “As you wish.” In our modern vernacular, we’d use the phrase, “Whatever you say.” That’s the kind of heart that’s more precious to God than gold. One that tells Him, “Whatever you say.”

A heart that’s clean is a heart focused on God rather than self. Which is the opposite of how the religious leaders in Jesus’ day behaved. The things they did that appeared to help others follow God were only done to gain human praise. Common people may have looked up to them, even revered them for their piety. Jesus condemned them, calling them hypocrites (see Matthew 23:23-39). Jesus told His followers not to copy their pretend religious leaders, who everyone thought were so holy.

Then how could anyone please God? Who could see or experience God, if not the religious leaders of the day?

When our hearts are pure with the cleanness that comes from believing in Jesus, we experience God. We get to live with Him. JEANETTE LEVELLIE

99.44 Percent Pure

A famous advertising slogan claims that Ivory Soap was 99.44 percent pure. It was a great claim for soap. Who wants to wash with soap that’s only 56 or 78 percent pure? Yet that less-than-perfect claim is the best the world can boast.

If we humans can’t even manufacture pure soap, how are we going to make ourselves pure? Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only Jesus can remove our sin, cleanse our hearts with His pure, sinless blood and give us new life. When we trust Him to cleanse our hearts, we are ready to see, to experience, God.

I See

We say, “I see what you mean” when we want to show someone that we understand. When we need to have a serious conversation with a friend, we tell them, “I need to see you about a certain matter.” If I want to tell you that I spend a lot of time with my cousin, Patty, I say, “I see Patty often.”

Seeing is not merely looking at someone with the sense that comes from our eyes. Seeing is to understand a person, to enjoy a relationship with them and to spend time with them.

This is what Jesus was teaching us that day about seeing God. When our hearts are pure with the cleanness that comes from believing in Jesus, we experience God. We get to live with Him. Wow.

Some of the most encouraging words in the Bible are found in Revelation 21:3, where the Apostle John shares some of his vision of the future. “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them.”

This is the life Jesus wants for us, to experience God and to live with Him.

This is the sixth article in our series on the Beatitudes, key teachings from the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7), Jesus’ first sermon during His earthly ministry. Read the fifth article at https://salvationist.ca/articles/blessed-are-the-merciful/ .

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