“When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table. The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn’t wash up before the meal. But the Master said to him, “I know you Pharisees buff the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. Stupid Pharisees! Didn’t the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.”(Luke 11:37-41 The Message Bible)
Two men living in the same neighborhood, on the same street, only a couple of houses apart, they are exact opposites. Just a glance at how they dress, and you will see that one is slouchy and the other is simply neat. On frosty winter mornings or scorching summer days, the season not being a factor, one neighbor’s car sits in the driveway on Sunday mornings, while the other neighbor can be seeing steering his car out of his driveway and heading to church. They are exact opposites. One is friendly to all he meets on the neighborhood street. He knows no stranger and must have heard Jesus explain by a parable, just who are our neighbors. The other never speaks to a soul, looks away when a passerby waves their hand to say hello. Speaking of opposites in the neighborhood, have you seen any in yours? There is the one thing I notice most. Of course I may have a bias because of my own preferences and habits. One of the neighbors spends an enormous time taking care of the external part of his property; house and yard included. Even at this early hour, not one leaf is on the lawn. The other neighbor, whose lawn is littered with fallen leaves, hires contractors for outside chores. His focus seems to be on the internal. How do I know that is the case? I see the delivery trucks that are from furniture companies. I see those blue, brown, and white trucks making daily deliveries, leaving them on the neighbor’s porch. I know I am speculating, but based on the items he sits out by the curb on big trash pickup day, this neighbor spends a whole lot of time inside, decorating and re-decorating. He is an exact opposite of the other neighbor. I don’t have a problem with his passion because to tell the truth, I’m kind of like him. But think about this last opposite in a way that will help us make a segue into my main point. One neighbor focuses on the outside, the external. The other focuses on the inside, the internal.
Here is the transition. Tomorrow you will, as usual, as is your habit, you will head off to being the assembly of the saints. Main point: Dress appropriately, but head off focusing on transforming your inside or in other words, focus on redecorating yourself internally to live better for Christ. For sure, there are some who will focus, starting this Saturday morning, thinking about the external: How am I going to look? Do I need to get my hair done or go to the barber? What shall I wear that will have people showering me with comments? And even in the mask era, some ask, “Does my lipstick match my outfit?” Like I said, dress appropriately, but you be like the neighbor in the paragraph above who focuses on the internal. Go to church tomorrow, physically if you can or virtually if you cannot, and look at how you can better clothe yourself in righteousness and decorate yourself in godliness. When you focus on the internal, the external will look just fine. Yet people will surely see the Christ in you, more so than the clothing on you. Well go and enjoy your Saturday and find yourself in the special presence of the Lord! Neighbor, I love you and I pray for you. You pray for me too, okay? Be blessed!
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King