Purity of heart is to desire one thing (Kirkegaard).
What is the "one thing" we desire above all else? Asking this question allows us to see how cluttered our lives have become, how "impure" we are. If we analyze where we spend most of our time, energy, emotion, preoccupation, judgment, blame, and resentment, we soon see the places where we are stuck, areas where we are not free to pursue the one thing we most desire.
Capturing all of the sun's rays into the single focus of a magnifying glass allows us to ignite the spark of a great fire. Channeling all of our multiple energies into purity of heart---into one desire---does the same. Suddenly, everything we do is focused and intentional: preparing a highway in our lives for the arrival of Jesus Christ, Who bears within His own Person the kingdom of God, the peace that passes all understanding, and joy without shadow.
Purity of heart allows us to "travel lightly," to be unencumbered by the opinions and demands of others if those demands do not fit into the "one thing" necessary for our lives. It allows us the freedom not to worry about the outcome of our efforts, if our work is directed to the thing most important to us.
Abraham found that leaving his father's house and his culture meant choosing the one thing necessary for him--to keep following the Yahweh Who called him "to a land I will show you." He could not know ahead of time where that would be, nor how he would get there, nor when he would arrive. Nor did he know ahead of time how he would sustain himself in a strange land, as an outsider. The one thing necessary for him was to trust the God Who had spoken to him, to believe that God would not abandon or fail him, though he himself might fail along the way.
Abraham's purity of heart and trust in Yahweh allowed him to give his nephew Lot first choice of where to live in the land. Lot chose the fertile plain near the Jordan River, leaving Abraham the more remote and drier regions without water. However, rather than resent Lot's choice, Abraham went on his way, knowing that God would provide what he needed.
Everything in Abraham's life took second place to adhering to the Voice of God as it spoke to him. Because of his purity of heart, he is known as the father of those who trust God.
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