More Than a Conqueror Devotional #12

Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God – Matthew 5:8

This time of year in the part of the country where I live snow is a regular occurrence. Though I am not a particularly big fan of snow I have to admit watching those beautiful white puffy flakes blanket the ground is a site to behold. All of God’s creation is white and clean; even if it is only a moment, before the first foot print or tire track scars the canvas all the earth is covered in the purity of the snow. However it is fleeting, temporary, it is only a surface covering, a purity that is skin deep and cannot last. Genuine purity comes from within. In the furtherance of his sermon the Lord implores us to strive for internal purity of heart and mind. We will only be able to see God if we are of a pure mind and heart. “…Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart“ (I Samuel 16:7).

We are more than conquerors today because we can avoid the trap of pride and snare of concerning ourselves with issues that are only skin deep. The Lord would have us to care and maintain our earthly bodies; “…know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you” (I Corinthians 6:19). However he would not have us to sacrifice holiness for the purposes of maintaining a pleasing physique; “Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto to all things; having the promise of life that now is, and that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8). As the purity of the snow quickly fades when it falls to the earth so too will a comely appearance and a sculpted figure. Outward appearances will not last always. Fellow Christian the path to heaven starts from within. We are blessed when our inside state of being is more important than our outward appearance. Heaven is reserved for those who are of a pure mind and heart. We will only see God manifest outwardly when we first have the mind and the heart of God inwardly.