Part
1
By
Beverly Rainwater
"And
the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting
for Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
In
today's "me" philosophy society it is not always easy to find a pure
mind that chooses what God chooses. Harder it is still to find a pure
heart.
Vocation,
place of residence, recreation, language -- all play a part in ones desire to
have the mind of Christ.
If
you have a pure heart you will see your relationship with God as comforting
not irritating, positive not negative, and joyful not sad. You will
aspire to do His will and to be like Him. If you have real love and
mercy for fellowman then it will come from God and your love for Him.
Purity
of heart means to be master of self, not be naively innocent or perfect.
Real purity is strong, resilient, and lasting. A naive innocence is
easily deluded and vanishes when disillusionment comes. Perfection is
impossible. The kind of perfection God wants is the growth kind. A
growth toward the ideal goal -- that of "Wholehearted Service"
motivated by a pure and chaste heart.
"Till
we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ." (Ephesians 4:13)
"That
the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
(2 Timothy 3:17)
