Most of us pay a lot of attention to the details on the outside. Personally, I spend the extra time to make sure my outfit looks right, or my home looks good in case I have visitors. I like my work space to be inviting for my students. However, please don’t open up my closets or desk drawers. If you do, you will see that I am not as organized as I would hope to be. We also judge many people or circumstances in our lives on outward qualities. The tragedy is that we don’t get to see the whole picture. Since we are not God, we do not get to see what is going on inside of the people we interact with on a daily basis or within a certain trial we are going through at the time. Often, the outward qualities or the outward circumstances can be frustrating or down right scary. Part of the reason that all of us struggle with this is because we are both physical and spiritual beings. Our physical self is limited, and our spiritual self is damaged due to sin. But through our faith in Christ and through his work on the cross, we can reclaim our spirit. Our spirit is reborn. the Bible teaches us. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17. If we look at Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified, we can see that from the outward view, all hope was gone. Physically Jesus was dead. The messiah was no more. All of the key players were trying to control the outcome. They were doing their job. I’m sure there was some fear and some frustration within the hearts of those men and women present that day. But inside the tomb, God was working a miracle. Inwardly, spiritual strongholds were being silenced. Death was defeated, and there was a way for humanity to be reconciled to the father. What a powerful lesson. Take a look at your circumstances or the people in your life that you have been praying for? Are you focusing too much on the outward or outside view? What might God be doing on the inside of the person you care about? What about those circumstances? What might God be doing behind the scenes that is for His glory? For your spiritual development? For your good? “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11. For each of us, our physical self has a limit, an expiration date. But… our spirit will live forever. The inside view of life focuses on God’s work with our spirit that lives on. I pray that you have new perspective as you look at your life. May you begin to see what lies behind the tomb. The miracle on the inside.
Be blessed,
Jessica
Thank you for writing this inciteful message. It is very true and I was just talking about this subject with my son last week.
So true! Thanks for sharing.