Outward and Inward

Once the good man was dead, one wore his hat and another his sword as he had worn them, a third had himself barbered as he had, a fourth walked as he did, but the honest man that he was -- nobody any longer wanted to be that.

Georg C. Lichtenberg 1742-1799, German Physicist, Satirist

Luke 6:45-46
45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. "Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
NASU

We live in a time when it is popular to follow, and when I say follow, I mean to follow anything without examination. As a new school year pops up a trip to your local market for this year’s school supplies will yield a plethora of different celebrity pictures on display. Must haves, and mothers and others will go to extreme measures to make sure their child has the right stuff.

It is an indication of just how much we all desire to be seen and accepted. We will try to acquire traits or clothes that we hope will also draw attention to us. Many do not care what it costs to get into the “limelight” even if it is to go to the extreme measure of killing someone for 5 minutes of fame on the national news at night. But, all of this is an outward appearance, a temporary attempt to identify a desperate need inside, a picture of a searching and unsatisfied life.

We can make this mistake as Christians too. We can tote our bibles, and say our prayers, and even make it to every church service and miss the boat. Listen to Jesus in Matt 23:28, "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” He told the Pharisee’s they were full of dead men’s bones, and just as having the latest designer clothes doesn’t say you’re a hit, being in a church doesn’t make you a Christian. We must carry much more than His name, we must show the world His heart…God Bless.

Pastor William