What about internal?
Last week I talked about distraction and the external damage that takes place. “We can get distracted with life and quit exercising and before we know it our bodies are out of shape. We can get distracted eating what looks appealing and the next thing we know we have some extra pounds that we are carrying around.” What about the internal damage? A lot of time what is going on inside can be what is coined a “silent killer”.
The reality is there are people that can eat all the junk, garbage food they want and never exercise and look slim and trim. But they are a walking time bomb. It is just a matter of time before everything is going to fall apart and when it does it is not going to be pretty.
Internal
When I went off the road last week my husband did not want me to drive the car. He wasn’t sure how much damage there might be. So I drove our van. The van that is questionable. We have been driving it with care for a while knowing that there is a questionable head casket.
I made it to work without a hitch. After work, I headed to an appointment. When I was heading home I notice a light that had come on the dash. I call it a check engine light but technically there is another name for it. I asked my husband if it had been on before now. He thought it had but couldn’t remember for sure. I didn’t think I saw it that morning but I wasn’t sure. Thankfully, I made it home without a problem.
The next morning after the van had warmed up I went out to go to work. When I got into the van the light was now blinking. I told my husband so he checked a couple of fluids and said it should be fine. He didn’t know why it was blinking but he told me to go ahead and go to work and hopefully everything would be fine.
When I got to the end of our driveway I just could not bring myself to drive it to work. Because was worried, I got out the book for the van and started to do some looking. I didn’t want to be late to work so I called my dad and he took me. On my way, I looked in the book some more and found that when the light was blinking you could lose power at any time and that you should take the vehicle in immediately. I was glad I did not take the van.
External versus internal
In all appearances, everything looked okay on the outside of the van. In fact, it looks quite nice. But on the other hand, the car looked concerning to drive. What the outside looks like maybe an eyesore but it doesn’t affect how the car runs. Of course, there is the exception if you have had a major wreck it could have done internal damage. But I am just talking about the looks. We always buy used cars and yes we like it to look nice but what means most to us is how the internal parts are.
We can even go back to people. The kinds of people you want to spend time with and be around are those that have good internal qualities. If you are just looking for a person that is perfectly shaped and has great looks to be around you will probably be disappointed. It may make you feel good to be seen with them, especially if they are popular. But what is their character like. That means more than what they look like. Many young people get caught up with wanting to be with the most popular and beautiful or handsome kids but a lot of times they are treated badly by them.
What about spiritually?
Can we, as a Christian, look good on the outside? We come to church looking happy and everyone may think we are doing great. We eat healthily, dress modestly, worship God, go to midweek service, involve ourselves in all the church activities, etc. But the question would be what is going on inside.
There may be someone else that doesn’t look so good on the outside. Maybe they don’t eat the way we think healthy eating requires, dress like we think a Christian should dress, come to midweek service, get involved with all the church activities, etc. But they seem so on fire for the Lord and we don’t understand it.
So now we have the outside that looks good like my van does. And we have those that look cosmetically bad like my car does. But the question becomes what about the inside? Just because someone looks cosmetically good does that mean he or she is in a saving relationship with Jesus? And if someone looks cosmetically bad does that mean they do not have a saving relationship with Jesus?
The bottom line is what the cosmetic of my vehicle does not tell me what the true car condition is. The same is true for people. The cosmetic does not tell us the true heart condition. God is working with each person and you do not know where they are in their journey and they could be in a better saving relationship with Jesus even though you are doing all the “right” things.
But Jesus said…
You may be saying, “But by their fruits, ye shall know them.” Yes, this is true. But we need to be very careful. If we are sitting in the judgment seat we are already where God doesn’t want us to be and we are on dangerous ground. As Jesus warned a few verses before, “Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (See Matthew 7).
We need to be examining ourselves and making sure that our hearts are where they should be. If our hearts and not just our exterior are right with God we will look at people like Christ look at people. And it will not be with a judgmental, critical attitude but with love and compassion. We need to pray, love them, and be a living example. It is easy to overlook our own faults as we look and dwell on others faults.
We cannot even be of service and help to others if what is on the outside does not match what is on the inside. And we need to go to God in humility and let Him lead and guide us with how to reach those around us. A moment of wrong actions can destroy a person for a lifetime. That is why God has given us warning about us being on the judgment seat for others. Self easily gets in the way.
Dear Father,
Please forgive us for not always representing You as we should. Help us to make sure that we are not cosmetically following You but that our hearts are surrendered to You. And that we are doing everything we do because of our love for You and what You have done for us.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Make sure you are right with God today in every area of your life. It is the heart condition that counts the most. As your heart is right the works will follow.
Love you all.
What vehicle trouble have you had? And what spiritual lesson came out of it? Share below I would love to hear your story.
As a note, I still don’t have the outcome on my vehicles so I am still on this journey. I don’t have the full rest of the story but someday soon. And when I do I may share it with you.