On Plants, Preparing for the Unexpected, and the Pure in Heart

It is a beautiful March day, cold but sunny. There are hints of spring, but winter is not over. I remember this time of year from our days in Atlanta. On sunny March weekends, the local plant nurseries would be filled with people buying spring plants. During the week, frost would come and kill all the newly planted flowers. The next weekend, the nurseries would once again be filled with people buying plants.

We are often lulled into a false sense of security. We think that everything is going well, then the unexpected occurs. An unexpected bill. A diagnosis. An interpersonal problem. We know that unexpected things are going to occur, yet when they do occur, we are usually caught off guard. While we cannot predict the timing or the exact nature of these events, we should expect the unexpected.

And, to a certain degree, we can be prepared. Daily time reading the Bible. Prayer. Keeping in fellowship with other believers who will encourage us and hold us accountable. All of these daily disciplines will help us mature as believers and be better prepared for the unexpected. Keeping our focus on God daily will help us to keep our focus on Him during the unexpected trials.

My surgery is less than a week away. On Tuesday, the surgeon’s assistant reviewed the procedure with me. At this point, I do not think about the procedure or about the pain that my body will have to endure, but I think about how God has brought me through my treatments thus far and how thankful I am that he has given us skilled surgeons that can repair the damage to my bone caused by the cancer. I have a sense of peace and assurance because God has promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

Thoughts on Matthew 5:8 . . .

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

To be pure in heart is to be clean and holy. Without a clean and holy heart, we cannot see God. The only way to have such a heart, and to see God, is to receive forgiveness and cleansing from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ alone has a pure heart. Only in Him can we be purified. Only in Christ can we have a pure heart. Only in Christ will we see God. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).