Andy Bonikowsky is a missionary to Spain that you should know. If you get his prayer letters, you occasionally get thought provoking, God saturated thoughts like this:
"Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, lying on a bed; Son, be of good cheer...." (Matthew 9:2)
The Lord looked inside the hearts of these five men, and saw faith. It did not seem to matter to Him what the paralytic man and his friends were wearing, nor the make of the stretcher, nor the styles of their sandals. Jesus made no reference whatsoever to how they looked on the outside. In fact, we rarely ever read about the Lord's opinion of peoples' external looks. How different from our modern society that values appearances so much!
If the Lord Jesus came to me in our church lobby would His first comment be about my fancy suit or colorful tie? Surely I don't think so! But isn't that what often occupies my mind? Now obviously, it is Christian to dress properly and neatly. But it is not Christian to give outside beauty a leading role and assign inward virtue a secondary one.
Whether it was a foreign lady, a military officer, or a sick man and his friends, the Savior was always focusing on the internal quality of faith. It was faithfulness that impressed Him, rather than fame, and righteous character more than rich clothing.
If I am drawing closer to God I will increasingly look for what He looks for. The higher my walk becomes the more heavenly my values will be. I will look past the plainness of a fellow member's clothes and praise the Lord for his friendliness to visitors. Or I will appreciate a young man's offer of his chair to the elderly lady more than the style of his haircut.
Whether it is what God is looking for or what I should be noticing, the thing to remember is that what matters most is on the inside.
Andy
