Matthew 5:8
This year has given me opportunities to learn things as God revealed them directly to me from His Word and revealed through my children. William has been such a vessel this year.
One of William's teachers just adored him from the very beginning. (As his mom, I adore him, but others may see him differently.) As time went by, she and her husband shared that William's uniqueness comes from his pure heart. What a precious gift and joy he is to be around as a result!
Now, William is not perfect. He makes bad choices and can be a knucklehead about things. He forgets things and has trouble interacting with others. He does not always get jokes that pertain to the culture, because of our living overseas. However he has a heart of gold, even as he wades into the teenage years.
William came to salvation at an early age. I accepted Jesus as my Savior at an early age, though not as early as he did. I struggled as I grew over whether I was really saved and rededicated my life several times, just to be sure. William has had times this year that he felt he needed to rededicate his life to the Lord. How can one with a pure heart need to rededicate?
These moments have opened up the door to talk about the two sides of salvation, justification and sanctification. Justification happens when we first realize we are sinners unable to live up to God's standard of holiness and accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to bridge the gap between us and God, making Jesus Lord over our lives. Though I wish that instantly transformed us into perfect people, it does not.
Sanctification is the process of us being made to be more like Christ as work out that salvation and what it looks like to live as Christ, usually through the trials of this world. How I wish someone had really been able to explain that to me when I was his age, but then maybe they did andI just did not understand.
We have talked several times this year about what God might really be saying to him. He is the only one who can truly know about where his heart is with God, but others around him, Rich and I, his teacher, see fruit of the Spirit in him. Maybe rather than needing to be saved, it is God working to refine him. What could he be concerned about in his life if he is so "pure in heart"? He worried that his video games were taking God's place in his heart. Wow, convicting to even be that sensitive. What do I let take focus in my heart? Am I that burdened by it? We have talked about the conviction we feel actually being an example of His presence in our hearts, because without His presence, we would not feel that same level of conviction.
Purify my heart, Lord, make me more like You.
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