Pining After Perfection

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." —Matthew 5:8

"The Spirit of God finds us with foul hearts, and he comes and throws a divine light into us so that we see that they are foul. Then he shows us that, being sinners, we deserve to endure God's wrath, and we realize that we do. Then he says to us, "But that wrath was borne by Jesus Christ for you." He opens our eyes, and we see that "Christ died for us,"—in our room, and place, and stead. We look to him, we believe that he died as our Substitute, and we trust ourselves with him. Then we know that our sins are forgiven us for his name's sake, and the joy of pardoned sin goes through us with such a thrill as we never felt before; and the next moment the forgiven sinner cries, "Now that I am saved, now that I am pardoned, my Lord Jesus Christ, I will be thy servant for ever. I will put to death the sins that put thee to death; and if thou wilt give me the strength to do so, I will serve thee as long as I live!" The current of the man's soul ran before towards evil; but the moment that he finds that Jesus Christ died for him, and that his sins are forgiven him for Christ's sake, the whole stream of his soul rushes in the other direction towards that which is right; and though he still has a struggle against his old nature, yet from that day forth the man is pure in heart; that is to say, his heart loves purity, his, heart seeks after holiness, his heart pines after perfection." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)