June 22, 2020
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” Matthew 23:27
I’m guilty. I sit down every now and then and watch HGTV with my wife. I don’t know that I really enjoy it, but I watch as these house restorers (for lack of a better word) go into a house and remodel it. They knock out walls, put in new floors, replace kitchen cabinets and appliances and give the place an overall bran new look inside and out.
They then bring the couple that has bought the house and paid for the renovations into the house and they ooh and awe at all the new stuff in their old shell of a house. One of the things that bother me is when the restorers call the owner and tell them that they found a problem with the foundation or the electric supply lines or the plumbing. I speak up and tell Peggy the house buyer should have had all that checked out before they bought the house. It doesn’t matter they still keep the house and have it fixed up and ooh and awe at the newness of the “new” house.
Well, let’s all be reminded that you can tell an old shell of a house and you can remodel yourself to the max and that still doesn’t mean you will have a home. A home is not made by the look of the house. The home is made by what’s in the house.
The same can be said about our discipleship to Jesus. We can look really good on the outside. We can follow all the rules. We can make all the meetings. We can give all we can. We can be a part of many ministries. On the outside we can look really good, but the question is what is on the inside. Jesus said in Matthew 7, “Many will say to me Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all of this in your name. And He will say, depart from me for I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23, paraphrased) It is not what is on the outside that matters. It is what is on the inside that God sees.
As we head into a new week, my prayer is that we are daily working as much on the inside as we do on the outside. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a renovation in your life so that you can reflect Jesus on the inside and the outside.
Dear Lord, help us to bring newness of life on the inside of our lives. Help us to allow Your Spirit to refresh our soul. Help us to become all we need to be to do the will of our Heavenly Father. Give us beautiful outsides to reflect the beauty of Jesus inside. We ask in Jesus name, Amen.
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