This week, I was taking my son to school. He attends the school operated as a ministry of our church. On Fridays we have casual dress for the students and teachers. As we were driving, we noticed that we were dressed exactly alike. Now we were not wearing the same colored under t-shirts, socks, or undergarments (as my 11-year-old son thought that was the funniest part), but outwardly, we looked the same. There was a pause of silence in the car, and then my son made the keen observation, “We are the same on the outside, just not on the inside!” Now I know that my son was not trying to give me a sermon, but boy––his statement began to preach in so many ways in my life.
I thought of the fact that Jesus wants us all to have the faith of a child. Sometime my faith is not that of a child!
I thought of the Pharisees and the “phylactery” that they would carry on their garments. For the larger the size, the more scripture they “knew.”
I thought of the fact that God wants us to have hearts that are moldable and flexible, not solid stone and matter.
My mind went to a lot of places. But the place it landed was Proverbs 4:23. It says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life!” You see our heart (INSIDE) determines our destiny (OUTSIDE). They will be the same in the end!
The New Testament is filled with stories about the Pharisees. You see a Pharisee was a religious person that looks good on the outside, but is empty on the inside. WOW, that sounds a lot like a hypocrite! I don’t want to be a Pharisee or a hypocrite.
I want to be the same on the Inside and Out!
Watch this video of Mike Fisher of the NHL Team the Nashville Predators, as he talks about getting things line up from the Inside Out!