God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8 NLT

A child can’t hide what they’re thinking and feeling inside. You know immediately when they are afraid, excited, sad or surprised. But over time we learn not to show our real thoughts and feelings. A divide forms between what is in our hearts, and what we are willing to show to others. We experience our separateness and become fearful and divided. We hide behind a mask or persona. What would people think if they knew this about me? Whatever is inside of us eventually comes out, no matter how hard we may try to cover it up.

What masks do you wear?

We wear masks for a reason. Not everything inside of us is what we want it to be. But hiding or denying our mixed motives doesn’t make them go away. Neither does shame help us change, or cynicism help us to heal.

In this beatitude (you can read the Beatitudes here), Jesus invites us to show our true selves, and to believe in the possibility of our own goodness. If our idea of how God sees us is rooted in disapproval, it’s hard not to hide. But a God who is love, sees us truly and calls us on to wholeness of heart.

Purity of heart is being honest about what’s inside. You give up trying to be perfect and show the real you. When we are honest with ourselves, with others, and with God, we step out of the shadows and into the light.

And light transforms everything it touches.

What’s inside of you is seen and held with tenderness. We’re invited to step further into the light, to be authentic, wholehearted, and divided no more.

Will you drop your mask today?

9Beats

A growing tribe of us are exploring these nine sayings – nine beats – as a path of recovery, back to reality. An invitation to walk through life differently. A rhythm we are desperate to feel reverberating through our world, up through the soles of our feet, right to our bones. We’ve been experimenting in how to live life the 9Beats way. How to put hope, and trust, peacemaking and humility into practice. How to follow in the path of radical love. Why don’t you join us? www.9beats.org