A Series on the Beatitudes
(Click
on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:8; James 1:22-25; Psalm 24:3-4
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. NIV
“Mirror, mirror on
the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” These are the words of the Evil Queen
in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. This story may be a fairy tale, but
there’s a lot of truth in it.
For instance, when
the Evil Queen looked into the mirror, she didn’t really want the truth, just
affirmation. And when she was told the truth, she sent her Huntsman off to find
Snow White to kill her. No, the Evil Queen didn’t want to know the truth about
the ugliness of who she really was on the inside.
Like the Evil
Queen, our human nature leads us to deflect, rationalize and justify our flaws
that are ugly. We prefer to point our finger at someone else rather than to look
at our own shortcomings. James gives us some insight into how to avoid this.
23 For
if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a
mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget
what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully
into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t
forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. NLT
If we look
carefully… do what it says… and don’t forget… then God will bless us. The
Beatitude for this week affirms James’ words.
8 “You’re
blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you
can see God in the outside world. MSG
If we get our
inside world right, then we will see God, or at least see Him at work. Listen
to what David wrote about climbing the mountain of the Lord. He confirms that like
Moses on Mount Sinai, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Jesus on the Mount of
Transfiguration, we too can see God and His work.
3 Who
may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols and never tell lies. NLT
Do you want to “climb the mountain of the Lord”? Do you
want to see Jesus? Then let him change you from the inside out. Let him make
you pure.
Then when you look
into the word of God, which is our mirror, you will see the truth. Not only the
truth about yourself, but the truth of what Jesus has done for you. And the
truth will set you free.
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