The Daily Word

Our minds and hearts are very adept at giving us a very one-sided view of the world and people. To see another person’s point of view is not always easy. We are conditioned by our lives and circumstances to have a warped outlook. There is a well-known saying that has much truth in it, “Evil lies in the eye of the beholder”, in other words we see and interpret what we want to see in others and their actions.

As Christians, this should not be so. Well, you might say, the Lord when He was on earth often cut through words to see motives. Quite so, but who are we to compare ourselves to his all-knowing character. There is a purity in just seeing and believing what we see and hear, without seeking to look for another interpretation.

Unless we have direct and incontrovertible evidence to disbelieve and see another motive, we should be generous in spirit to accept at face value what we see and hear.

The sixth Beatitude has a similar theme, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. How do we obtain purity in our innermost being, our heart? Only by submission of ourselves to the God who has saved us. Allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in our hearts, a process which we can call ‘sanctification’. Only if we see things through His eyes, will be able to see more of God and the more we see of Him, the more we want to develop His character in us.

If we look for evil motives, we can always find them for Satan is only too willing to twist our minds but if we let him in, how can we be pure in heart and so see God?

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church