A Pure Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart...” – Matt 5:8

10 Characteristics of a Pure Heart 

1)   A pure heart is a Heart that looks at people, things and situations with and through the eyes and perspective of God. We are so biased and judgmental and we jump to conclusions so hastily. Do we ever take time to stop and think how Jesus would look at it?

2)   A pure heart is a heart that hates sin in all its forms and obeys God completely. The Bible instructs us to hate sin (not sinners) in all its forms no matter how small it seems. There is no way we could accommodate sin. Likewise we are also expected to obey God completely and wholeheartedly. It is important to understand that partial and/or delayed obedience is disobedience.

3)   A pure heart displays the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) in all circumstances. Remember, our spontaneous response to a given situation talks a lot about the purity of our heart and Christian Maturity.

4)   A pure heart loves God and fellow beings and tries to dwell peacefully with everyone. Loving God isn't enough. We must also love the people around us no matter how challenging it may be at times.

5)   A pure Heart is never indifferent. We need to be sensitive to the needs of people around us. People have different kinds of needs, and if it is in our capacity to help them, as Christians we must make every effort to do so. In Genesis 14:14-16 we see how Abraham went an extra mile for Lot even risking his own life. He could have just ignored and been indifferent but he chose to intervene. And that’s what we are expected to do as Christians in our society; in our country.

6)   A pure heart is selfless. We have to cease to be selfish and self centered. We have to broaden our horizons and be inclusive when it comes to charity and good deeds. Christ died for everyone and He did not have any selfish motives.

7)   A pure heart always Glorifies God in everything. We must not fall prey to self-glorification business.

8)   A pure heart is faithful, stable and focused. Infidelity can never be a virtue of a pure heart nor can instability be accommodated.

9)   A pure heart is humble and meek. Meekness does not mean weakness. There is nothing wrong in being strong, powerful or influential, but it is very important to know how to withhold, control and channelize that strength. We need to cease to dominate and impose things on the weak and the downtrodden.

10)  A pure heart always keeps on improving. No one is perfect. It’s important for us to understand that there is always a scope of improvement for us. We need to keep on improving daily.

Blessed are the Pure in heart – Do we really have a pure heart?

Author - Rev. Abhijeet Sasane