REFLECTIONS

An Inside View

Only moments passed before the neighbor answered the doorbell ring. My visit there was not unusual but the invitation to come inside was a surprising first. A glance inside revealed perhaps the reason I had not been invited before. The home was not in shambles by any means, but neither was it as orderly as the outside suggested it would be. There were dirty dishes left in the living area, the rug was soiled from stains unattended, and a broken vase rested on a dusty bookshelf near the fireplace.

Still the welcome was warm and the invitation to make myself comfortable felt genuine, yet the neighbor’s face had looks of alarm from secrets now exposed. Outside all appeared orderly, controlled, and even prosperous. The inside offered a different view.

What was the truth, I wondered. Who is this person living there? Was the essence of my neighbor portrayed by the outside or did the disarray of the inside represent the truth? My neighbor lives two lives, I judged—a public one that tells lies and performs acts of deception; and a private one uncovered by an inside view.

Then I awakened. It was only a dream. Oh, I had rung the doorbell, but it wasn’t my neighbor who answered the door. When I looked more closely I was startled to see the image before me was my own. The décor outside the door had been designed by me. And the inside view revealed the state of life I truly live.

Much of life is concealed by secrets and acts of deceit. We choose to hide the things that will tarnish the reputation we work so hard to build. In that way we may look no different than the neighbor next door or the person across town. But the inside view reveals the truth of who we really are. It tells the secrets we hold, even from ourselves.

There’s nothing new about it nor is it unique to you and me. The trait dates back to the garden when God saw through the fig leaves into the souls of Adam and Eve. They tried to hide from the wrong they had done. They even laid the blame on someone else. But they only deceived themselves from what really was.

God knows who we are, what we think about, and the motives for all we do. He sees when we live to please the world from his inside view of our souls. So maybe we should take a look inside the lives we live and reveal the secrets kept hidden there. It will free us from bondage to the lies we live and bring glory to God’s holy name.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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