While teaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a series of remarkable statements.  They are remarkable because Jesus did not agree with any measure of deception - He spoke only what was true because He Himself is Truth, (i.e. Jesus was referring to Himself when He made the statement that: "You will know the truth, and the Truth will set you free.").  Yes, my reader, truth is a Person.  The reference point for the things that are true and right and pure and lovely are found in an exclusive, unique place.  Truth has a Name and a Face.  And these like no other!

Among the riveting declarations Jesus gave men among those Beatitudes was that the pure in heart will see God, (Matt. 5:8).  It begs the question then as to what constitutes "pure in heart" because if we have some basic grasp of the mercy and desire of God to reconcile men to Himself then we will WANT to see God.  If God is seen as something less than desirable then we don't see God as He is.  If thats too big of a leap for you to take reading this then you need to start at square one, right now, and begin to ask God yourself for evidence and assurance that He wants you to know Him.  Its just that simple: seek Him out.  Ask for Him to reveal Himself to you in such a way that you can feel safe in your beginning pursuit of Him.  For some of you, simply finding this web page is one such evidence.

Moving beyond that to where you are in active, deliberate pursuit to find God it behooves you to have hope that you can see God.  Man was made for communion with God like nothing else we were made to experience.  Nothing fits into your life as importantly and as pleasurably as knowing God.  But we all start when we begin to grasp how fallen we are.  By fallen, I mean that we are actually blind and deaf when it comes to spiritual truth.  We cannot generate our own light to even begin to seek Him.  No man is "smart enough" to find God, or "good enough" to assume fellowship with Him.  Man's best and brightest cannot close the distance between us and Him.  He is truly that Glorious and Wonderful, and we are truly that broken and poor.  Man by himself seeks for himself.  The warmth of love and the pleasures of His Beauty are vacant in our experience as well as from among what we desire.  Is humanity that desperate without God?  Yes.  What we build for and hope for and dream about is so much less than what God offers us.
"OK, Greg Burnett", you say.  "If thats the state of my existence then how can I ever hope to be pure in heart?  How can I ever hope to see God?"  Good questions.  Critical ones.  I'll address those in a follow up post.

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In a personal note, I'm yet waiting for the next season.  To everything there is a season, and its clear we are done in the local context.  I moved my family to Charlotte 11 years ago, and God sent us to build prayer here.  He has exceeded my expectations in that regard and for that I am forever grateful to be a part of His work on the earth in my generation.  I remember in the first several years while we were waiting on the Lord here a friend called me and described me as "shipwrecked".  I was rather intrigued by his observation, which I recognized came from Acts chapter 27.  The apostle Paul was shipwrecked during his missionary pursuits.  (There is even an inlet on the island of Malta called St. Paul's bay which legends holds was the place Paul landed as depicted in the scriptures).  Reflecting upon it for some time, I saw some validity to his statement in that God leads us into difficulty to grow us into greater Christlikeness.  Through such circumstances the temptations to get bitter are great, like the reefs around such an island.  The only way through them is to worship and pray, to find God in His word.  Oh to be more impressed with God Himself than our circumstances!  (Even in the blessing, and times of increase and favor!)
So I'm waiting again.  I would quickly state here, friend, that God's best is worth waiting for.  Let Him lead you in His triumph, don't lean on your own strength or understanding.  Instead, get lower!   As singers have sung, the river of God's Spirit rushes to the lowest place!
As for me, I'm watching and worshipping.  I'm listening and looking for glimpses of His beauty!  I bear witness that a man can only accomplish the works of God when he is sent by God.  And so I wait.  Find me watching, O God.  See my weak heart which desires You and strengthen that which must remain!