05/05/2022 – My lawn looks great
There is nothing like a great looking lawn, especially after a fresh cut, when the lawn stripes are sharply defined. The lawn is enhanced by its clean edges, freshly mulched beds, hosting an assortment of flowers, all showing off their happy colors. My neighbor compliments me on how manicure my lawn always looks, to which I reply with a sense of pride “Thank You, glad you notice”. But if you came over to my yard and examine the lawn closely, you would see the truth, spots of crab grass, all kinds of weeds, bare spots, that’s just to name a few of my lawns long list of defects. So, admiring my lawn from a distance, my lawn will always look great, but the moment you get close, well that’s another story.
Matthew 23:27-28
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Wow, Jesus did not mince His words, He basically told the teachers of the law, you look great from the outside, but the moment you are examined closer, the truth about you is uncovered, your filled with wickedness. The only thing that comes to my mind is the word “OUCH”, Jesus is so direct and confrontational, not just towards the Pharisees, but towards me as well. You see, just like any lawns you admire from a distance, we too can appear very holy on the outside, but would fail upon a closer examination. We all struggle with one issue or another that tries to separate us from God, but there is a difference from those who seek God’s mercy and forgiveness and those who walk in their own holiness, whitewashed. Those are harsh convicting words from Jesus, but God is merciful, and His grace endures forever. Today let us repent from our wickedness.
Today think about God’s mercy in your life, meditate on this verse.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.