“Create a clean heart in me, O God,” says today’s Psalm. It calls to mind the Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see the face of God.” God’s desire is to purify us, so that we can see Him face to face in heaven and enjoy His goodness forever. While our sin at times obscures his face, his grace is strong enough to erase sin from our hearts. And as our hearts are purified in this life, we learn to see His face here and now, in anticipation of our final beatitude in heaven. We begin to see glimpses of the glory to come.
For this reason, Christ says, “Let the children come to me…the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” It is the innocent child, the one whose heart is pure, who does not even know how to sin, who enjoys God face to face. We will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven until we have hearts like innocent children. Today, let’s ask Christ to create clean hearts in us, hearts that are capable of enjoying his presence forever.