Opening our Hearts

"Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God."

-Matthew 5:8

Michael W Smith captures ‘clean of heart’ perfectly in his song, Open the Eyes of My Heart. The ‘pure of heart’ don't always have to be perfect, but are willing to see the world as the Lord reveals it to them: in wonder and awe.

Sometimes we can be afraid of Jesus seeing us. Even though I know He knows who I am, a little part of me just wants to hide away. I worry he will see the guilt and burdens my heart carries, especially if I am standing right in front of Him. Why do we so often think Jesus shouldn’t have to see us in our brokenness? What is it we think Jesus won’t be able to handle?

Standing in front of God and letting Him see our wounds feels like a spotlight, and the spotlight is lonely. However, Jesus wants to hold us in His arms. He wants us to know that He's there for us and that we can count on Him in the highs and lows, in the celebrations and in the mourning. God wants to see us at all times even when we're not feeling good enough for Him. God pieces our broken pieces up and holds them in His hands. In this way, we should also want to see the Lord for who He is.

A little part of me also gets scared of Him seeing me because I don't want to believe that someone can love me as much as He does. Yet we know that God made us in His image and likeness and out of a pure act of love. God is love, and he asks us to believe in who He says He is, even when it’s hard. He does note hide from us, but he does call us to ask, to seek, to find. When we search from him wholeheartedly, Jesus reveals Himself.

A lot goes into doing that though. We can't get prescription glasses for the way our heart beats or the way it sees. It’s a matter of changing perspective. Rather than focusing on being how others see us, we can begin to focus on where and how we see God. Maybe we can begin to ask ourselves: ‘How is God communicating today? Where is he most visible in my life?’

A closed heart has trouble being opened. There's a reason why it's closed, and usually locked up pretty tight. It's hard to open it yourself, so Michael W Smith takes a different approach and asks God to open it for him. It's not selfish or egotistical; it's a genuine prayer. We can’t do everything on our own (even when we think we can). There's a saying, ‘Do your best and God will do the rest’. Especially if that means opening your heart to God. The tiniest invitation, and God will come in and transform us. Next time you pray about this, see what's around you during that time. Is he showing you through a person? A social media post? Or in the silence? God is working constantly and longs to be seen, to be noticed, by you, but it's up to you to want to see.