REFLECTIONS

An Inside View

Only moments passed before the neighbor answered the doorbell. My visit there was not unusual but the invitation to come inside was a surprising first. A quick glance inside possibly revealed the reason. The home was not in shambles by any means, but neither was it as orderly as the outside suggested it would be. Dirty dishes sat in the living area, the rug had been soiled by 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; still the neighbor’s face expressed alarm from secrets exposed. Outside all appeared orderly, controlled, and even a touch prosperous. The inside view drew a different picture.

            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 approached perfection; and a private one that exposed a different look.

            Then I awakened. It was only a dream. Oh, I rang the doorbell, but it wasn’t my neighbor who answered the door. When I looked more closely, I was startled to see before me the image I see in the mirror every day. The décor outside was designed by me. But the inside revealed the state of life I truly live.

            Much of life is concealed by secrets and acts of deception. 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 keep, many of them even from ourselves.

            There’s nothing new about it nor is it unique to 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 the truth.

            God knows who we are, what we think about, and the motives for all we do. From an inside view of our souls, He sees when we are living to please the world. So maybe we should take a look inside the lives we live and reveal the secrets kept hidden there. It frees us from bondage to the lies we live. And truth gives glory to God.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +www.reflectingthesavior.org

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