"And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of
Him with whom we have to do.
Hebrew 4:13
An Example of True Cleanliness
In contrast to the reams of rules of Pharises had
for achieving cleanliness, Jesus had only one
instruction:
"But give that which is within as charity,
and then all things are clean for you."
Luke 11:41
Love, Jesus says, is the sign of a pure heart.
Remember His parable of the Good Samaritan,
who stopped and cared for the wounded man
while the sanctimonious priest and Levite skirted
by? In the story, as well as in real life, it's easy
to tell whose heart is clean your love shining
through the person's life.
When Putting This into Practice
We marvel at the Pharises trying to atone for
their sins by washing their hands. Yet are we
much different? Wanting to look holy, we pour
water over our lives as we perform our Friday
morning routines. We try our best to hold our
hands properly. To say the right words. To wear
the right clothes. To do the right things. Us, lose
our tempers? Lust? Slander? Envy? Never! How
could you say such a thing when our Christian
smiles are so bright?
Christ, however, isn't fooled by our appearance.
He wants us to stop pretending and start caring
about having a clean heart. Two principles from
His lesson can help us avoid the religious
hypocrisy of the Pharises.
First, never try to cover wrong within by
cleaning up the externals of your life. Just as we
can't fix an engine by washing the car, so we
can't fix our sinfulness by sprinkling some
religion over the surface of our lives. To feels
truly clean, we must invite Christ into our inner
chambers.
Second, always pay attention to the inside of
your life. Living in cosmetic world, we have at
our fingertips everything we could ever need to
look better than we are. But God sees behind our
masks. The writer of Hebrews say (Heb. 4:13).
Don't be afraid to lay your life bare before God.
He knows all about the dirt you've been sweeping
under the rug, and He won't be shocked.
He wants to give you the wonderful feeling of
being clean . . . from the inside out.
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of
Him with whom we have to do.
Hebrew 4:13
An Example of True Cleanliness
In contrast to the reams of rules of Pharises had
for achieving cleanliness, Jesus had only one
instruction:
"But give that which is within as charity,
and then all things are clean for you."
Luke 11:41
Love, Jesus says, is the sign of a pure heart.
Remember His parable of the Good Samaritan,
who stopped and cared for the wounded man
while the sanctimonious priest and Levite skirted
by? In the story, as well as in real life, it's easy
to tell whose heart is clean your love shining
through the person's life.
When Putting This into Practice
We marvel at the Pharises trying to atone for
their sins by washing their hands. Yet are we
much different? Wanting to look holy, we pour
water over our lives as we perform our Friday
morning routines. We try our best to hold our
hands properly. To say the right words. To wear
the right clothes. To do the right things. Us, lose
our tempers? Lust? Slander? Envy? Never! How
could you say such a thing when our Christian
smiles are so bright?
Christ, however, isn't fooled by our appearance.
He wants us to stop pretending and start caring
about having a clean heart. Two principles from
His lesson can help us avoid the religious
hypocrisy of the Pharises.
First, never try to cover wrong within by
cleaning up the externals of your life. Just as we
can't fix an engine by washing the car, so we
can't fix our sinfulness by sprinkling some
religion over the surface of our lives. To feels
truly clean, we must invite Christ into our inner
chambers.
Second, always pay attention to the inside of
your life. Living in cosmetic world, we have at
our fingertips everything we could ever need to
look better than we are. But God sees behind our
masks. The writer of Hebrews say (Heb. 4:13).
Don't be afraid to lay your life bare before God.
He knows all about the dirt you've been sweeping
under the rug, and He won't be shocked.
He wants to give you the wonderful feeling of
being clean . . . from the inside out.
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