Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

 Pure is from the greek word katharos meaning

1. clean, pure
   1. physically
      1. purified by fire
      2. in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit
   2. in a levitical sense
      1. clean, the use of which is not forbidden, imparts no uncleanness
   3. ethically
      1. free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt
      2. free from every admixture of what is false, sincere genuine
      3. blameless, innocent
      4. unstained with the guilt of anything

When I was a young Christian the older Christians would laugh and say “Never pray for patience because then you’ll end up in a trial” . This comes from the scripture in James 1:3 ^“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” The notion of avoiding going through a trial is a position of spiritual immaturity ,but when you start to grow in the Lord and you start to mature, you realize that the trying of your faith is vital to purifying your heart. It’s during those times that Jesus can prune away all of those things in each one of us that does not serve the Kingdom Of God.

Trials are humbling. In James 4:6 the Bible says “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” If ever there was a time when we need the grace of God, it’s during a time of trial. Humbling ourselves before the Lord is submitting ourselves to God for him to work in us. We allow Jesus to prune away all of those things that are not serving him and in this way we purify our hearts before him.

The pure of heart belongs to someone who has gone through many battles… has seen many hardships, but in those times of hardships and in those times of trial, the pure of heart submitted themselves to Jesus and allowed Jesus to prune away all those things that didn’t serve him. The result was that they came through the battle with all of those things that are not Godly burned away and what was left was a purified heart.

James 1:2-3  “2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”

Now when I read the verses in James 1:2-3 I view it differently. Trials are no longer something to be avoided but something to be embraced and to count as a joyous thing because it’s through these trials that our hearts are made pure and with a pure heart we have the promise that we will see God.