The Heart - Gen. 13-15 & Matt. 5:1-26

It's so easy to wear a mask isn't it?

What would our world be like if we didn't have that filter in our brains? Like on the Jim Carrey movie Liar, Liar. He cannot tell a lie and so he goes around fearing who he'll run into because he might insult them. My guess is that our world would be even crazier and more rude than it already is (which is a scary thought). But the reality is that that scary picture IS our world!

That was Jesus' point in Matthew 5 when he talks about the law and the fact that the people needed to be even more righteous than the Pharisees. The Pharisees were people who took the letter of the law very seriously. So much so that they added to it, making it even more strict, so they looked perfect. But that is exactly what Jesus had a problem with. Jesus knew their hearts and He told them (later) that they needed to stop simply cleaning the outside of the cup (that is, their appearance to others) and worry moreso about the inside (that is, their motives).

And while the law seems so hard to us, think about your motives for a minute. To my youth, or my church family, or my personal family and friends I imagine that I look pretty "clean" on the outside. But I know that God looks at my heart....and that makes me want to shrivel up and hide.

Which is why it's so beautiful to see as far back as Gen. 15:6 that God credits us with righteousness when we have faith in Him. God promised an old man that he would have offspring as numerous as the stars in sky and that old man believed! And God considered him righteous because of His faith.

Thank you Lord for your grace. Continue to change my heart, that I may be clean on the inside.