Pure in Heart
Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God.” Each day we end with a word of the day. Today I chose purity.
Our day began at 5:45am with a church service not too far from our guesthouse. We
then moved on to the Home for Sick and Dying Children, and last but not least the
Apparent Project. Three very different settings. But all have one thing in
common: purity. A strange word to describe these I know. However, there are
very few things in our lives we describe as pure. Maybe that’s why the organic
food section is so busy now. When it comes to people, we often suspect an ulterior
motive. Not much purity to see in our modern businesses. But in the Haitian
church service, the people worshiping, waving their hands, kneeling for over
45 minutes with hands raised, walking back and forth praying: that was beautiful.
To see worship so wonderfully pure. They definitely weren’t worried about what
other people were thinking, because everyone was doing the same thing. It was
so free. And you could tell God was loving it. It was a sweet smelling aroma to
Him.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We saw Him all
day long. At the Home, the care and love for those children was pure. It didn’t
matter what the children were sick with, if they were small or large, sleeping
or awake, crying or smiling. They were being loved. There was a mother who was
purely loving on her child she only is able to see for a few hours a day. A few
hours A DAY. She kissed her, sang to her, played with her feet, and gazed into
her eyes. If the whole atmosphere didn’t bring tears to your eyes, observing
those few moments between mother and child would. First they begin as tears of
sorrow and compassion, but then move to tears of joy. This mother was fully
engaged and enjoying this precious time with her child who was suffering. But
that didn’t matter in that moment. It was pure.
We ended our day’s journey with
the Apparent Project. God has blessed this awesome venture! In their few short
years, they have expanded to a booming nonprofit/for-profit business. The for-profit
side is to pay their employees and expand their business reach. They have
created hundreds of jobs, and provide an economic boost for the community. They
aren’t in it for the bills they will slide into their pocket at the end of the
day. The purpose is to help the people of Haiti live in the best way: with
dignity and as a family. “Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” A few verses later in Matthew 5,
Jesus says this, “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything
except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” What happens when salt is no
longer pure salt? It’s not good for anything useful, like flavor or preserving.
Salt has to be kept pure. In seeing the purity of the day, God encourages me to
remain pure, in my motives and in my love for Him and others. Is that
difficult? Yes, because there are a few things that work against us in our
lives. However we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So, at
the end of this day, I will thank God for showing me the glory of the purity
that He has preserved and the purity that He is working in me, and will
continue to work until His work on this earth through me is done. Praise be to
God!
Tiffany
