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Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Second Corinthians 3:16 goes on to say, “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.
Second Corinthians 3:12-18 is a wonderful portion of the New Testament. On the one hand, it says that the sons of Israel are veiled, and on the other hand, it says that whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The removal of the veil does not depend on anything other than turning our heart to the Lord. When the veil is not taken away, there is no light, but once the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The veil refers to all the things that we pursue other than the Lord. Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. All the veils are due to the fact that our heart is not focused on the Lord. Therefore, verse 16 says that whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Once our heart turns to the Lord and desires the Lord in a single and pure way, we become a person who is pure in heart. One who is pure in heart does not know anything; he just knows the Lord. He does not desire anything; he just desires the Lord. One who is pure in heart does not covet anything in the world; neither does he covet anything in the spiritual realm. He is able to say, “O Lord, whom do I have in heaven but You? And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth.” His heart is so pure and is not covered by any veil. Furthermore, once his veils are taken away, light comes, and immediately he sees. We all must realize what our problem is. Our problem is that our inner being is not pure and that we still have a great deal of mixture in us. Therefore, our heart needs to turn to the Lord.
Some people may ask, How do we know that we are focusing on something other than the Lord? How do we know what these things are? And how do we know if we are focusing on the Lord as well as on something else? Actually, everyone knows already. All the problems hinge on whether or not we are willing to be broken and to receive the dealing of the cross. In the example mentioned before, the brother argued with me and tried to justify himself. I do not believe that he did not have any negative feeling within him while he was arguing. Neither do I believe that a person who loves to boast does not have any similar feeling. They all have this kind of feeling, but the question is whether or not they are willing to receive it.
Second Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Verse 17 says, “And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” When we put these two verses together, they say, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord...and the Lord is the Spirit.” What does this mean? The apostle wrote these two verses so close together because he knew that people might ask him, “You want me to turn to the Lord, but where is the Lord?” The apostle answered this question indirectly by saying that the Lord is the Spirit. When people ask us how it can be possible to know if they have turned their heart to the Lord, we should turn the question back to them and ask them whether or not they have freedom within. Do you think that the arguing brother that I mentioned before has freedom? I believe that the more he argues with me, the less freedom he has within. The more he ignores his inner feeling and refutes my words, the more his spirit within him is bound. Eventually, he will not have any light. Once a person who loves to boast begins to do so, his inner being has no freedom because the Lord Spirit is bound within him. We must ask ourselves, do we prefer to turn to our boasting or to the Lord, who has no freedom within us?
Surely someone who loves money or a child more than the Lord has some feeling within him. We all can testify that we do have a particular feeling inside of us when we love money; we feel bound and oppressed within. Then when we open our mouth to pray, others will know that there is something wrong with us—the Lord within us is not free; He is bound in us. If we still love money, or if we love our children more than the Lord, how can we not have an uneasy feeling? However, if we are willing to turn to the Lord, who has been bound within us, we will immediately receive freedom and be full of light. What are our hindrances, and what are the things that we are pursuing other than the Lord? No doubt they are the things that make us feel uneasy. When we feel uneasy or uncomfortable regarding a certain matter, that matter is a hindrance; this is something we are pursuing other than the Lord. We should unreservedly allow the Lord to break it.
When we see the zeal of some young people, we cannot deny that they love the Lord and pursue the Lord. Nevertheless, they still have problems within them. Although everyone is different, some of their problems are quite similar to one another. Last year when they were not willing to pursue the Lord and were not zealous for the Lord, they had a particular problem; this year when they are willing to pursue the Lord and are zealous for the Lord, they still have the same problem. When they are being dealt with in one aspect, they have this fundamental problem; when they are being dealt with in another aspect, the problem is still there. Their problem is that whenever someone else finds fault with what they are doing, they always have an excuse. Even if their mistake is very obvious, they are still not willing to admit it. They should not wait until the Lord comes before they will say, “Sorry, I am wrong.” In fact, it is very rare to hear a young person say, “Sorry, I am wrong.” When people point out their mistakes, they are not only unwilling to admit them, but they also provide many excuses. This is an example of being covered, for they are reluctant to receive light from within.
If we do not receive light for a long time, we will lose our inner feeling and fall into darkness. When others point out our mistakes, we should be able to say, “Sorry, this is my fault. Please forgive me.” If we can do this, we have a clear understanding of light. However, when others find fault with us, we may excuse ourselves, reasoning that our faults are unavoidable. Moreover, when they come to us again, we may continue to defend ourselves. This indicates that our inner being is fully covered and is in darkness. When some people quarrel with their spouse at home, they have an uneasy feeling within them. Actually, everyone should have these feelings within, but eventually, due to their continual practice of arguing, their inner feeling is lost. Therefore, we should not claim that our actions are reasonable. Even when we do something reasonable, we should not fight for it, because even our “reasonableness” has a little bit of the self in it. As long as we have light and feeling within, we should accept the breaking and the dealing that comes from this light. In this way we will not be in darkness.
We need to repent to the Lord for our inability to see the light. In our church life we read the Bible every day, yet we may not have light. We have the Bible in our mind, yet there is no light within us. We also serve the Lord fervently, but there is no light or reality in our serving, and we do not know why we are serving. Not only so, while we work, our inner being is full of confusion and without light. We live the so-called spiritual life day by day without any fresh spiritual vision, and our inner being seems to lack something. Every day we rise up early to read the Bible. Every day we visit people and take care of them, yet we may not have any fresh seeing or fresh feeling within.
A person who lives before the Lord, however, should be shining and fresh every day. Whenever he comes to the Lord, he receives light. This is not the light that he saw yesterday but new light that he sees today. His inner being is always clear and certain about the direction of his serving and the move of the Holy Spirit. Not only does he know the direction of the move of the church, but he also knows God’s purpose for the church on the earth. His inner feeling is always fresh and bright. This kind of person is always learning something new and receiving new shining each day. When people contact him, although outwardly he may not seem to be very affectionate, his inner being is soft and fresh, as clear as crystal, and transparent. Some who are saved, even having received grace from the Lord, would behave in a rough way; their problem is that their heart is not pure enough for the Lord. They are too complicated within, and so when a feeling comes, they are not willing to receive it. We all have the feeling within us, yet often we are not willing to receive the breaking that comes with the feeling. This unwillingness is the rejection of light.
Man does not enter into darkness abruptly; rather, he does so gradually. The setting of the sun is always from morning to afternoon, from afternoon to dusk, and from dusk to evening. Evening, however, is still not the darkest time. All men who enter into darkness do so in a gradual way, without any feeling that it is happening. It is in such an unconscious way that man gradually drifts toward something other than the Lord. This is the result of a lack of light within. Hence, if we feel uneasy or confused in a certain area, this is where we need to receive light and breaking from the Lord. If we receive continuous breaking before the Lord in this way, the light within us will shine brighter and brighter, because the veils in us will be gradually taken away.
For example, suppose I am a person who loves to justify myself. When you come to tell me something and I want to explain the situation to you, my inner being will feel uncomfortable. At that moment I should immediately receive this feeling, bow my head, and tell the Lord, “O Lord, I will not say anything; even if they misunderstand me, I will still not say anything.” We should not disobey the inner feeling and shining, neither should we disobey the inner vision. Once we have a feeling from the Lord, we should submit to it. Many of us can testify that whenever we stop, right away there is freedom in our spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Some people are always asking, “How do we know if our heart is turned to the Lord?” We know that our heart is turned to the Lord when our spirit is free. When we are quarreling with our husband or our wife and we sense that our inner being is not free, we should bow our head immediately and tell the Lord, “O Lord, I would not quarrel anymore.” Once you stop, your inner being will be free, your spirit will be released, and you will be able to praise. If we are like this every morning, then our daily living will be fresh. On the contrary, if we continue to quarrel and to disobey the feeling, I am afraid that throughout the whole day, from the morning to the evening, our inner being will be in confusion and darkness, and our spirit will not be free. Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
