“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok, this week we mixing it up a little and going to meet at Platform 2 on Tynemouth Station at 7.30.

If you are doing the reverse advent calendar you can bring some of your items on Sunday night.

I am really thankful that others feel that they can write our blogs from time to time, it takes the pressure off, with that in mind i’m thankful to Naomi who has written this weeks.

No doubt, with this beatitude, as with all the others, the first question we find ourselves asking is what does it mean when it talks about being “pure in heart”. For some of the earlier beatitudes, we discussed the idea that they’re not necessarily aspirational, but rather they are consolation for when we inevitably find ourselves, “poor in spirit” or “those who mourn”.

It is hard to see this one in the same light as I’m sure most people would aspire to be someone who is “pure in heart”. When researching into this verse, the main idea put forward is that suggesting that to be pure in heart is to have good intentions, rather than good behaviour. It appeals to the idea of God being concerned on what is going on internally, rather than what we choose to show externally.

As a teacher, I sometimes (often) get frustrated at the way we assess and give feedback to students. We are so obsessed with data and what “success” looks like that we only give value to a percentage on a test. All that percentage tells you is how a particular student performed on a particular task on a particular day. It doesn’t tell you how much effort they put into the classwork in the weeks leading up to the test, nor the time spent on revision. It doesn’t tell you if they tried their hardest on the day or if they decided they just couldn’t be bothered. A list of GCSE grades on a CV doesn’t tell you if a student gave their best for “mediocre” pass grades or if they sailed through to top grades with a minimum of effort or desire to do well. In short, we assess and give credit to the external behaviour, rather than the will and intentions of the heart. When I speak to parents at parents’ evenings I always focus on talking to them about their child’s attitude to learning and participation in lessons rather than their attainment – I can’t expect all students to get 100% but I can hope that they will give 100%.

For me, this verse speaks of God blessing those who strive to do His will, even if they don’t always achieve it. In a world where Facebook and Instagram enable us to only show our best sides, where we can paint a picture that displays a false reality, God sees our hearts; He knows our intentions, we cannot deceive him. It should also be noted that none of us can be truly “pure in heart” without allowing God to make us that way – that we must accept we aren’t perfect and are all in need of His help in this matter.

Questions