This is again, one of those entries that throws the responsibility of maintaining my relationship with my Master back squarely in my court. I prefer the ones where the responsibility is all His and I get to enjoy the results, but unfortunately Scripture sides with Chambers on this one, quite plainly, or in this case clearly.
This is from the Beatitude which says, "Blessed are those pure in heart, because God they shall see." The focus is on the purity, and the word is used in the sense of being made of one thing, like pure gold or pure water. One the aspects of purity that always has been ironic (and therefore amusing to me) is that not everyone agrees on whether purity in things is good or if some additive adds preferable qualities. For instance, pure water does not sell as well as water purified but with minerals added for flavor. Gold is typically not pure because it is too soft without some other metal present to reduce malleability, and whatever is made from it is more easily preserved without scars and marks. But it is not this way with my Master.
In Scripture, from beginning through the end, purity is a required quality. It is inherent in my Master and is desirable in His servants. In fact, the final act of my Master on behalf of His servants will completely purify them as if through fire where the final dross will be removed forever. Purity will be our characteristic as well. But right now I am not there. One of the ways this comes out is in the Law as recorded by Leviticus. In that book purity is taken to very strange extremes, extremes that scholars and students have tried to explain as rational. Some can be, but others completely defy this attempt. For anyone who likes clothes with a cotton wool blend, they would be breaking a law against wearing clothing made from two types of cloth. Lindsey-Woolsey shirts are prohibited, cotton-wool blends are not for the chosen people of God. The point here is not durability or comfort, it is purity, and only purity (or purely).
So, there are things I can do to maintain "ritual purity", but that is not what is meant here. This word is actually the Greek root for catharsis, and refers to cleansing. Uh-oh, clean up my act? Pretty much, that is the point here. See, Jesus paid a sin debt, which also functioned to purify me before my Master, and my spiritual connection to God in Christ Jesus is secured by Him. But my experience of this connection can be hampered or limited by my failure to maintain a "cleanliness of character". I feel the effects of this truth through waring emotions like guilt or shame, or guilt and shame. Anger can be a warning sign that something is out of kilter. But there are also more subtle signs that I have some cleaning up to do. When I feel my "prayers are just bouncing around the ceiling and not reaching God," I probably have some clean up to do. When I discover that I am very emotional, weepy at points which do not warrant such a response (OK, like crying at commercials or something), I probably have some cleaning to do. But there are other indicators and clues as well. These are signs that I have not been keeping my character pure and have some cleaning to do.
Fortunately, my Master has made provision for this as well. He says in 1 John 1:9 that if I confess my sin, He is faith and just and will forgive my sin and purify me from all unrighteousness. So the cleaning for which I am responsible has to do with searching for the dirt, and bringing it out before my Master. Again, you may have noticed another function of this blog. Sorry, but readers get to witness a ritual purification process of another. I hope it helps whoever reads, but if not, you are free to read something else. Perhaps the entry tomorrow will help more. But I write these things for the purposes of making myself more available to my Master, for purification before Him, and not for the edification and encouragement of others. That is a welcome byproduct, but not the root purpose. I've said it before and it is still true.
So, this is the 50 somethingth blog entry. I guess it might be a good time to evaluate how it's going with the cleaning. Looking back I see progress. I see over the last two months a trail of improvement in my attitude and response to work, family, even traffic (crazy, I know!). These improvements are clearly the effect of the work of my Master. The experience of these improvements over the past few months happened over these past few months because He has more access to me now than He has had in the past 10 years. That is really critical. I am seeing the blessings of purity, seeing the handiwork of my Master, seeing my Master more clearly. The pure in heart will see God, and the greater the purity, the better the view. I like the view from here, but I admit, it is still dingy. There is more scrubbing to be done, the windows are not yet clean. More Windex please, or perhaps a mixture of vinegar and water.
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