Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8)
This statement by Jesus seems to point to something debatable in experience, indeed two debatable experiences, or at least what seem to be unlikely for disciples to have at first glance. The first is that sinful individuals can be pure in heart and the second is that they will be able in some way(s) to see the God who is described elsewhere in the Bible as invisible. Yet we know that Jesus did not makes guesses about what was possible for his disciples or false promises that could not be fulfilled. Having thought about that, perhaps we now wonder why Jesus is so confident that both will come true. Is it because he will bring them about in the experience of his disciples? As we commence our sermon, I would quote a statement I read in an article by Andrew Miller. He said, ‘‘The purer the heart is, the more clearly it will see God, and the more clearly it sees God, the purer it must become.’ C. H. Spurgeon said something similar in his commentary on Matthew: ‘It is a great reward to be