I Want it All

Ok. I have to post this. Just too good not to share. It is written by the author I quoted yesterday, Tony Woodlief, as part of a piece about the beatitudes. In response to "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God", Tony writes:

               "I have run, many times, from the love and law of God. Worse, I told myself it was He who had gone missing. "Where are You?" I would pray , though I was the one hiding. The state of our heart governs whether we hear His vo...ice in our lives or see His face in creation. Purity of heart. That's an almost inconceivable concept in this world we've made. Who sees, anymore, through pure-hearted eyes?
           I cannot help but think of my three-year-old daughter on her deathbed, no longer able to speak because of the tumor mashing into her brain stem But in a rare moment of lucidity and painlessness, she pointed toward the ceiling, followed something with her hand, and looked to her mother and me as if urging us to appreciate what she saw there.
           I remember being struck by the peacefulness on her face, after she'd endured weeks of pain and confusion. It was as if she had come through her suffering to a place beyond fear, beyond hurt. I don't know what she saw; I know only that she wanted her parents to understand it. I suppose she still does.
      Will we see it? Will we let ourselves be weak enough, simple enough, faith-filled enough, to gain a glimpse of what children like her see so clearly? Do we have the courage to embrace a child's faith, to believe in a God who controls all, provides all? I pray we get there. I pray we all get there."

Powerful. John Greco wrote this as an accompaniment regarding this beatitude:

" Jesus once compared the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, which are beautiful on the outside but full of death inside (Matt. 23:27). The Pharisees focused their attention on signs of outward purity - hand washing, ritual baths, and strict rules for the Sabbath - but God wants us to have pure hearts that overflow into pure lives. And He promises us there will come a day when we who love Jesus stand before the Lord with pure hearts and see Him face to face (Rev. 22:4)."

I want that. I want all of that. God, give me a pure heart........

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