Daily Bible Reading Plans to help you read and understand God’s Word

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:8, Psalm 24:3-6, Acts 6:8-15, Acts 7:54-60, 2 Timothy 2:19-22, 1 John 3:1-3

Last year, I took my daughter on a surprise trip to Disney World. I had been preparing for it for all of her nine years—to wake her up like a normal school day and go to Disney World instead. It was every bit as magical and wonderful as I had hoped, a really perfect trip. Then a week or so after our trip, I took her to a well-child visit, and much to my surprise, she failed her vision test. Not just a little either, the girl could not see far away...at all. And then it hit me, “what did she see at Disney World?!” 

In the first century, to see something—anything—was inherently to be in its presence. So for Jesus to say that the blessing of being pure in heart is to see God meant so much more than getting a text with a picture or FaceTiming from out of town. It was the reward of being welcomed into the presence of a holy God. This calls to mind Eden, where God and the first people dwelled together gloriously. But when Adam and Eve sinned, humanity lost this access to God’s presence, with cherubim guarding the entrance to the garden with fire, allowing no re-entry. The rest of the story, in part, tracks how God would bring humanity back into His presence, which required a purity that no one could fully attain on their own. 

Psalm 24 maps out for us who is welcome to be in God’s presence on His mountain and in His temple: those with clean hands, a pure heart, and a whole-life sense of integrity (Psalm 24:3–4). This feels overwhelmingly aspirational; I know that I’m flawed and prone to mask weakness, sin, and the vulnerable places in my heart and life to make myself seem better than I am on the inside. How could I ever make myself pure enough to see God? I think this must be part of the point of the Beatitudes. They have an easy-enough, face-value understanding, but they draw you in deeper and deeper, to mine the wisdom and meditate on the message. 

By the Spirit, those who follow Jesus have been given a new heart, one renewed and released from the power of sin. On our own, there is no amount of trying to be pure that can gain us entry into the presence of God. However, living by the Spirit invites us into the partnership of saying no to sin and yes to humility, surrender, and self-sacrifice—like a dance of His holy work and our willing participation. 

My grandma is someone who exemplified this beautifully. I even read this beatitude at her funeral a few years ago. She had lost most of her vision over time, and I couldn’t get over the truth that the reward of her salvation is God’s presence and that when all is made new, she will see Him fully. The hope realized for her is the same hope that beckons us nearer to Him. Purity of heart, integrity of life, forever seeing Him.

Written by Becca Owens