There are many times in my daily life that I encounter people that think they have all the answers. Sometimes they are right. Often they are wrong. And frequently, they argue against God’s wisdom because they are waiting for “new knowledge” or a “special revelation” that will make God real to them.

Someone recently asked me an honest question about my grief over losing my daughter to heart disease. She asked if I could go back and were I to have a choice about whether or not to be a mom to a child with special needs, would I choose to bypass all the heartache? I acknowledged that there are many things that I would do differently, but having my daughter would not be something I’d change. So, it made me wonder about how we, as believers, see our hardships in this life.

There is a difference between saying the right things and living them. We all know of church leaders, politicians, and celebrities that have said things to the approval of their followers, only to be later exposed as hypocrites. We are reminded in 1 John, that as part of the body of Christ, we are to love our brothers not only in word, but in action.

There is a difference between saying the right things and living them. We all know of church leaders, politicians, and celebrities that have said things to the approval of their followers, only to be later exposed as hypocrites. We are reminded in 1 John, that as part of the body of Christ, we are to love our brothers not only in word, but in action.

When we think of a pure heart that loves God, we do not speak of outward perfection or religious performance. We need to think of something far deeper that cannot be measured through ritual observance, checklists, or appearances. The purity of heart described in Matthew 5:8 is a life that seeks to love God not only with our emotions, but with our minds and actions.