Iran and a Pure Heart.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Every day I am reading through various news channels, usually online. Over the last days the election in Iran had a good coverage on an international scale. It is the story of struggle for power, of struggle for a good future for this country which has been suffering for a long time under various regimes. It is a struggle on many levels: political, military, social, personal, faith.

Where are we in the big theatre of life which the world constitutes? In what way are we involved in the big problems. “We need to wake up” - that's what we noted yesterday. But how is this going to work? The key question is not that we need to act, but the question is what we need to do, what strategy we need to follow, in what way we can break down the big task into feasible smaller tasks.

We need to keep in mind that our task is not only a purely strategic level in the sense that we need to find an action plan. Jesus is planning much more for us. He wants us to develop a “pure heart”. He wants us to come to a healthy, sustainable attitude of life. He wants us to be with him, to be renewed people which can be used by him for his eternal purposes. Thus, the goal is much greater, much deeper than just the development of some actions. The actions will be part of the larger road map, the Jesus agenda!

What is a pure heart? Is is a heart which cannot go hand in hand with a sharp mind? No. We should be smart, intelligent. But intelligence alone will not be enough. We should be patient. But patience alone will not suffice. We should be full of motivation. But that alone will not do. We need a heart which reflects the heart of God. He is good! He is so amazing good, so releasing, so refreshing, so home-giving, so creative, so dedicated, so solidary, so helping, so patient … how to describe the indescribable? A pure heart is a heart which is reflecting his heart … a little bit is sufficient, just a tiny portion of real purity will spread and make everything pure.

A pure heart always finds ideas how to go on. A pure heart will be a creative heart, a heart which has a future and sees a future for everyone. When we think about Iran with a pure heart, we see the problems on all sides. There is no political party or fraction in this state which would not have a difficult past, which could solve all the problems. There is so much poverty, and the whole environment is truly challenging. But there is a future for the people of Iran. They are people deeply loved by the God and creator of this world. Let us pray and work towards peace, appreciation, tolerance and open hearts in the middle east. [R.W.E.P., jesusnetwork.eu]

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