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The Christian Character: Pure in Heart (6) Matthew 6: 25 - 33
Do you see your God? To see God is to recognise the ultimate value of your life. What we value is what we see. Conversely what we don’t value we don’t see. We register things connected to our value scheme and don’t register those that are not. Few men would know where the nearest sewing shop is unless sent there by their spouses. And few women would know where the nearest fishing gear shop is unless asked to pick up something by their spouses. What we don’t value we can walk past daily and not see. Our perception of reality has a lot to do with the value and beliefs we hold. So, do you see your god? Do you want to see (your) god? Would it be helpful to see God? Do you see your god? What do you see? Because what you are most conscious of on a daily basis is your god. What fills your heart, mind, and consciousness most of the day is your god. What you dream of and hope for reflects the character of your god. Bishop Leslie Newbigin spoke of our ultimate concern being our god. When we examine ourselves like this we can be quite amazed. We might learn that our god is not God. And in this sense we speak of “god” as the most important thing that gives direction to our existence. Now we live with two worldviews. So to speak of God is for some people quite ridiculous because for them there is no God. Indeed our western world is secular and by definition rejects any sense of God influencing our politics. So the worship of God is a private affair. Our worldview is secular and very different to a religious worldview. There are important distinctions between these worldviews. Keith Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University in his book, God: A Guide for the Perplexed says that the Ancient Greek world with its many gods was fundamentally a personal world. [Ward; p.7f] That is, the presence of gods invites a personal response to life, the environment and the world about one. By comparison our scientific western world is impersonal. Science has shown humans to be the controllers of the world, and at worst science shows humans to be like the animals with no real freedom of choice, just being determined by their genes and circumstances. The secular worldview sees the individual as important, and secondly, our lives been driven by various influences. The American Christian thinker, Richard Foster, observes in his book, Celebration of Discipline: The path to spiritual growth that: “Because we lack a divine Centre our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We must clearly understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. We buy things we do not want to impress people we do not like. The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality. It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick. The psychosis permeates even our mythology. The modern hero is the poor boy who becomes rich rather than the Franciscan or Buddhist ideal of the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor. Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry.” [Foster, p.70f] Ambition, prudence, greed in their various disguises becomes our ultimate concern they become our gods. The point I am making is that our secular worldview has not freed us from believing in gods, just exchanged them. Secondly, we can no longer see God surrounded by these other gods. Do you want to see (your) god? It is uncomfortable to see our god. It is uncomfortable to uncover our god and find it to be no more powerful than the stone or wooden image of primitive society. It is also uncomfortable to see the God of Creation and God’s amazing love. Nothing can be more humbling and overwhelming than that the Creator of life loves us in such a complete and absolute way. That is why, I understand, the Bible says we cannot see God and live. There is truth in that. But it is equally true that we can see enough of God to transform life. Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God [Matthew 5:6]. The pure in heart does not mean moral goodness. It is about been focussed on God. Jesus is talking about our intention and desire. To be pure in heart is to be singularly focussed on God. The German Lutheran minister martyred by the Nazis, Bonhoeffer said of this text: “It means that our hearts and minds are surrendered completely to Jesus.” In practice it means that God is at the forefront of our consciousness. So in practice enjoying some simple pleasures that are not necessarily religious are quite appropriate if they provide a source of refreshment and renewal to us that we may better serve God and others. But if these pleasures become and end in themselves - the reason for our living - then you we have exchanged God for something less. We will not see God. Secondly, being pure in heart is a journey. It begins in an act of acceptance of Jesus as Lord, and progresses through the ups and downs of life until we see God more clearly. The scriptural song, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you [Mt 6:33] is the explanation of being pure in heart and the seeing of God. This purity of heart is the 1st cousin to the 4th Beatitude, hungering and thirsting for God. Would it help to see God? The answer can only be YES. To see God is a blessing. The uncomfortableness before God becomes a deep comfort in the presence of perfect love, absolutely committed to us. And that blessing has real practical outcomes. To see God is to see the reality of this world and see this world as created and purposeful and having hope. The first practical thing of seeing God is the re-ordering of our priorities. This brings the freedom not to conform to this world, and the freedom not to have to prove yourself all the time. To see God is to receive life as a gift, not something to earn and prove. To see God is to be
unconcerned about possessions
and learning to understand the difference of what we need and what we
want. Let us conclude with a story of a man whose life reflected this teaching of Jesus. “I believe God made me for a purpose – for China. But he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel God’s (his) pleasure.” So Eric Liddell responds to his sister, Jenny, who is worried about him spending so much time on his running and not giving all his time to missionary training for China. These memorable lines are spoken in the lush green hills around Edinburgh in the film, Chariots of Fire. Liddell is training for the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. He was to run the 100m but because it was being run on a Sunday he withdrew, and so forfeited a chance of the gold medal. He was a strong favourite for the sprint. He had one the British 100m earlier with a record run of 9.7s. This he held for the next 35 years. A fellow team member offered Liddell his place in the 400m, which was not his favoured race. He ran so well that he not only won that but set an Olympic record of 47.6s. Liddell became well know for his stand on not running on Sunday, and for his record breaking performances on the track. He also represented Scotland five times on the rugby field. In 1925 Liddell returned to China where he had been born. He worked there until the end. The British warned all missionaries to leave China after Japan had invaded China. Liddell sent his wife and children to Canada but he remained serving Christ through the missionary hospital his brother ran, taking care of the sick and the poor. When the Japanese arrived Liddell and others where interned. And again in prison camp he took to organising the welfare and medical resources for the prisons. He died in 1945 in prison. Eric Liddell put God
first and lived to serve God through serving others. He took the Gospel
in Word and Deed to China. But many of us remember him through the film,
Chariots of Fire and the haunting score of Vangelis’ theme music
and the runners’ feet on the sands of St Andrew’s beach. The film merely
refers in writing in the epilogue to the other great race Liddell ran,
which he ran to the end. *******
Peter C Whitaker, BUC: 07/09/2008
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