What's Inside Matters

Like mo

And if we're honest, we can fall into the same trap. We can spend so much energy perfecting the outside - how we look, what people think, how we appear - that we neglect what's growing inside us. But here's the good news: we don't have to clean ourselves up on our own. The Holy Spirit is at work within us, transforming us and making us new - not just on the surface, but all the way down to our hearts. God isn't interested in a polished exterior. He wants to make us new from the inside out.Like most people (I have to assume, right?), dishes are the least favorite job in our house. It seems like no matter how hard we try to get ahead, they always seem to pile up. Before kids, we could get away with this. But after kids, it's like the dishes are spawning overnight.

Because of our general aversion to dishes (and the reign of chaos in our house), something that happens more often than I'd like to admit is the dreaded old-crusty-milk-sippy-cup. Next thing you know, you're holding your breath and scrubbing curdled milk out of a million tiny sippy cup parts. Ironically, the outside of the cup is usually something adorable - rainbows, butterflies, Paw Patrol - you get the picture. But the inside is a completely different story.

I think Jesus makes a similar point in Matthew 23:27-28 when he rebukes the Pharisees:

And if we're honest, we can fall into the same trap. We can spend so much energy perfecting the outside - how we look, what people think, how we appear - that we neglect what's growing inside us. But here's the good news: we don't have to clean ourselves up on our own. The Holy Spirit is at work within us, transforming us and making us new - not just on the surface, but all the way down to our hearts. God isn't interested in a polished exterior. He wants to make us new from the inside out.