City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

Blessed the clean in heart—because they will see God.

Matthew 5:8 (LSV)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:1a, 5

Reflection

From a scriptural point of view, the heart is the part of a person that determines motive. You might call it your decider, the executive that directs you according to your deepest intentions. As Jesus explains, 

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

As Isaiah finds himself teleported into the divine throne-room and sees the Lord in His Glory, he understands that, because of Whom He has seen, nothing will ever be the same. He knows what God told Moses on the mountain, “No man may see my face and live.” Isaiah humbles himself, understanding his sins and those of his nation reveal a heart that is unclean – individually and collectively. What happens next is good news – the seraphim touches a coal from the sacrificial altar to his lips and his guilt is removed.

Application

A clean heart (and by association, lips) comes not from trying really hard to do good or to not do bad. All we can do is acknowledge and grieve the reality of our sin, especially the unclean motives at the root of all of our actions, and place ourselves before the just mercy of the Lord. He does not detest a broken heart and contrite spirit. This work is our part of redemption. From this posture, the Lord cleanses us by His Word, gives us a new heart, and baptizes us by the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer

Father, 

We are a people of unclean lips. Please forgive us for all of our evil, including the motives of our heart. Place in us a heart that beats for You and Your glorious kingdom, and may we see the Almighty in His glory.
Amen