Often, when people read the Beatitudes (see Matthew 5), they focus on the wrong things.

They focus on the cost rather than the reward.

Take today’s verse. Being “pure in heart” isn’t about being perfect. It’s about seeing:

• God’s imagination in the color of zinnias and the smell of roses.

• God’s sense of humor when you look at a rhino, a poodle, or a flamingo.

• God’s attention to detail in the cycle of water or the seasons.

• God’s little love notes when you find a prime parking spot, or when the line at the post office isn’t a mile long; meaning you won’t be late in picking up your kids.

• God’s constant TLC when a loved one’s wrinkled, worn, and weary body drifts off to sleep for the last time without having to endure a considerable amount of pain and suffering.

• God’s continued and constant position at the helm of the universe when you hold a newborn, see the first flowers of spring pop through the ground, or taste the first harvest from the garden each summer.

Being pure in heart is seeing God every day, everywhere you look. Jesus knew this. The pure in heart are truly blessed. Others may consider them naïve, but they see God.