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We have
a saying among the youth counselors who go on the youth ski
trips: "It's not how you ski, it's how you look."
And then we all laugh at ourselves. Because it doesn't matter
how you fall, just so long as you look good going down.
It's a
philosophy that applies to all of our fashion-intensive lives.
Sometimes I think we concentrate so much on the outside in
order to cover up the hurt, the pain, and the emptiness on
the inside. Sometimes when I walk in downtown Birmingham,
I watch the people who have every detail such that they look
like they could be on the cover of Vogue or some fitness magazine.
First of all, how do you get your hair to do that?! Second,
I wonder how many secret scars they have on the inside, and
if they know about the love of God to make them whole. But
still, we hang on to the "it's how you look" attitude.
Religious
people are no less susceptible, even when it comes to our
faith. Many times we get all caught up in what we are doing
on the outside. We simply ignore our underlying attitudes
and we forget that Jesus called people like that "white-washed
tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they
are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." (Matthew
23:27).
Jesus
wants our outward appearances to be a reflection of what's
going on inside of us. In my mind, that's what makes Christianity
such a realistic, honest approach to life. Because real change
happens that way: First, my heart is changed, then my life
is changed, that affects the lives of those around me, until
we can actually impact the world for God.
Inside
out - that's the way Christianity works. In the Beatitudes,
which are the beginning of Jesus' famous "Sermon on the
Mount," he gives us this perspective. Jesus begins his
developmental "theology" of the Christian life by
offering us a list of qualities that we should set as goals.
These qualities also provide a hierarchy for our salvation
process. At first, each of the Beatitudes don't seem very
related to each of the others, but look again. Jesus takes
us through a step-by-step progression of the key qualities
that must be a part of our Christian experience. There are
three major sections of growth and development.
Inner
Development - Matthew 5:3-5
- Poor
in spirit: Developing a need for Jesus Christ.
- They
that mourn: Developing a desire for repentance.
- The
meek: Developing an attitude of spirit control.
Transitional
Step - Matthew 5:6
- Hunger
and thirst for righteousness: Desiring righteousness. Righteousness
is an inner development that displays itself outwardly.
Outward
Display - Matthew 5:7-12
- Merciful:
Displays active empathy.
- Pure
in mind: Motivated by purity.
- Peacemakers:
Demonstrates peace.
- Persecuted
for righteousness: The final exam of your development.
May God
grant that we acquire his perspective and priorities for living,
as we move to follow him!
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