Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Second Corinthians 3:16 goes on to say, “But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” These two verses reveal that in order for someone to see God and receive His shining, the most important thing is that he must either be one who is already not covered in any way, or he must have his coverings removed. The pure in heart shall see God because they are not covered by anything. When a veil is put on someone’s face, it covers his eyes, but when the veil is taken away, he is able to see the light.
By removing everything that covers him, a person will see light. This is based upon 2 Corinthians 3:16 which reveals that whenever the Corinthians would turn their heart to the Lord, their veil would be taken away. When the heart of the Corinthians was turned away from the Lord, the veil was still on their heart; their turned-away heart was the veil. Whenever the veil was taken away and their heart was turned to the Lord, the Corinthians would receive God’s shining. Therefore, the reason man does not receive God’s shining is not because God does not shine, but because there is a veil and a covering within man. If man can solve the problem of being covered, then he will see light. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart shall see God, and 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light.” Thus, no one can see God without seeing light. God is light, and all those who see light are in God and must be in God alone. However, the requirement of God is that man must be pure in heart. To be pure in heart means that everything that covers the heart has been removed. Once a person’s heart is not pure and has mixture, that mixture becomes a covering. Only the pure in heart do not have any covering; only those who do not have any covering can see light.
Psalm 73:1 says, “Surely God is good to Israel, / To those who are pure in heart.” This is the psalmist’s appreciation. In verse 16 he says, “When I considered this in order to understand it, / It was a troublesome task in my sight.” However, when he entered into the sanctuary of God, he understood everything (v. 17). So in verse 25 the psalmist declares, “Whom do I have in heaven but You? / And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth.” This is to be pure in heart. One who is pure in heart pursues only the Lord in heaven and desires only the Lord on earth. To be pure in heart is to live on this earth desiring only God and to have no desire other than God. When our heart is single and pure toward God, we are those who are without any covering. Hence, the Bible shows us that in order to see the light, it is necessary to remove the covering.
Everything in this universe, besides God Himself, can be a covering to us. First John says that God is light. Thus, anything that is not God Himself can cover the light of God within us. Other than God Himself, there is nothing that is not a covering of the light. Therefore, we all must know that besides God, everything can become a covering to us. Only God Himself is light, and only light itself cannot cover light. We have to remember that all other people, matters, and things outside of God can cover the light. We should not think that good things will not become coverings of the light. In fact, what hinders many people from seeing light is not bad things but many good things.
For example, the pursuit of spirituality is something very high. However, even the pursuit of spirituality can replace God and become a covering of the light, causing one’s inner being to be without light. If we are willing to still our heart and to be calm before God, we immediately realize that there is a pile of things covering us, covering the light, and preventing us from seeing what is real. When a person is not pure, it is often the case that although he loves the Lord, his love for the Lord is superficial. He does love the Lord, but at the same time he also loves his face. He does not realize that his love for his face instead of the Lord becomes a covering, hindering him from receiving the light.
There is a saying, “The novices see the outside; the experts see the depths.” An experienced fabric seller can tell whether a fabric is a product of America or of Japan merely by touching the fabric with his hands, without even looking at it. A person who serves the Lord is the same; he is an expert at “touching” people. Whenever someone comes to him, without the other person saying anything, he knows his background merely by “touching” him.
The inner sense of a servant of the Lord is the most sensitive part for “touching” others. The most useful tool in serving people is the sense in our spirit. When we contact a brother, we can sense what kind of person he is without having much conversation with him. When we want to speak something to him, within us we first have to weigh, to measure, whether or not he is able to receive our word. If while we “weigh” him, we sense that he will not be able to receive our word, then it is better not to say anything.
Sometimes people come to me and ask me to tell them what their problem is, but because of their dignity I cannot tell them. We should not assume that the ones responsible for the home meetings or small groups are greatly advanced and that they are willing to forsake everything for the Lord. Actually, once we touch their dignity, they may be unable to get through. Once there was a brother who came to me to ask me to identify his problem. I felt that this brother’s problem was that he loved his face too much, but I could not tell him this. He urged me again and again, so I tested to see if he could take a word concerning this. I told him, “Your problem is that you never admit your failure.” He said, “How do you know?” I said to him that although I had known him for a long time, I had never heard him say, “I am wrong.” If a person has been broken and dealt with by God, he should be willing to say, “I am wrong. Please forgive me.” But that brother said in response, “I do not think so.” He was not willing to lose his face. This is an example of being covered from the light.
In order to help him, I showed him an example, saying, “One day you began to do something with your wife; it was obvious that you were not able to complete it, but you insisted on doing it so that I, your wife, and others would see.” He said, “You saw the opposite of the real situation. The situation was not like this.” I admitted to him that perhaps I did not see the situation as it really was. Therefore, two months later when this brother came to me again and asked me to identify his problem, I could not say anything to him. Some people are able to put the whole world aside except for their dignity.
The biggest problem among young people is the matter of comparison. If two people are working in the same place and one is praised, the other will feel bothered within. This feeling covers the light. When others receive praise, we have a certain kind of feeling; when we receive praise, we have another kind of feeling. These feelings are a covering—covering the light and causing our heart to not be pure. What is a pure heart? If I have a pure heart, when people say that I am wrong, I have no particular feeling; when people say that I am right, I also have no particular feeling. When people praise me, I have no particular feeling, and when people do not praise me, I also have no particular feeling. I do not desire the praise of others; rather, I desire God Himself. If we want too many things and our desires are too complicated, then anything, even our spiritual pursuit, can become something that covers the light. For instance, some people love to boast, so boasting becomes a great problem to them. Undoubtedly, they are very lovely and learned, but because they do not have light, they just love to boast. Whatever they do, they have to boast a little. This is a covering to them. If we want to see the light, we must remove everything that covers us.