The choice to be pure in heart may very well be the deepest and most far reaching change that we ever make in our friendship with Jesus. Essentially it means we chose to adopt as our own his singular motive behind all we think, say, and do.
And what was that? Here’s how he put it in his prayer in John 17:4 (NET) “I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
And what was that work? I think we find one summary statement of it in Mark 1:14-15 (NET)
“Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!”
Notice that the apostle Paul defines his life’s ultimate motivation in virtually the same language:
In Acts 20:24 (NIV) we read, “…I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
So we have Jesus giving voice to what motivates him above all else. We have the apostle Paul echoing the words of Jesus in defining what his motivation is. Now it’s your turn. Put it in your own words: if you were to adopt Jesus’ motive and Paul’s motive as your own, what would it sound like? Take some time to write it up for yourself. Commit your whole life to it — to being pure in heart.
