Loving from the Inside Out
I attend City Reach church with my children on Sundays. This is a church that focuses on winning people to Christ. The name is the church’s heart — to reach the city of Austin with God’s love. Their goal is 400,000 people coming to Christ. Every service you’ll see hands raised to accept the invitation. I have found their most important mission is to love Christ and love people. And that’s what matters, isn’t it?
But that’s not what matters in some religious circles as they put a high priority on legalism. I know. My husband and I grew up in that circle. When I first met him, his family didn’t own a TV. He sure couldn’t skate because “he might skate right pass the Pearly Gates”. My parents weren’t quite as extreme, but I couldn’t dance because “it was against my religion”. That’s what I said to my friends when they wanted me to go to “the dance” with them. I came to learn that the idea of being holy meant not smoking or drinking, not cussing or dancing, not going to movies. In some denominations the women had very little “skin” showing and they didn’t wear makeup or jewelry and didn’t cut their hair. But what I wore to church was my mom’s insistence to be in stylish dresses complete with gloves and even a “Jackie Kennedy” pillbox hat.
I remember when my husband (then, my boyfriend) let his hair grow over his ears. That was the era when men’s colored pants and shirts became the trend. He wore them almost out of spite to the “judges” who judged. Those folks would banter “the pastor’s son is going to hell in a hand-basket!” I am amused as I recall those days and how far we’ve come. Now, we know so much about God’s love and how He doesn’t judge our appearance on the outside but is keen on His kids’ hearts to be tight with His. “…..for the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Today, the “outside” does matter because when we express sheer, radical and undaunted faith by our praise and worship with smiling faces of joy, others are drawn in to worship too. It’s not unusual for there to be a mix of attire and tattoos! And, BTW, let’s not fret about tattoos. Even God has us “tattooed” (engraved) on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) There are jeans and t-shirts and sitting right next to them are folks dressed to the nines. You sense: “Welcome, come as you are for the ‘table’ is spread and the Father has His arms open wide to ‘whosoever will come”. People get so excited in their pure worship to God that they can’t keep from raising their hands and even dancing and jumping up and down with tears of gratitude rolling down their cheeks! A stadium full of crazy, wild, cheering fans over a game of football has nothing on these folks who express on the outside what is shining through from the inside.
It comes down to our heart, and a merry heart is like medicine to us and to those who watch our lives. (Proverbs 17:22) We are God’s billboards. People so desperately want to be happy, and what they need are “thoroughbreds”. Those who authentically have the joy of the Lord in them and live their lives showing it! Whatever we look like and whatever we wear pales in comparison to the worth placed on us by our Heavenly Father Who created us. Jesus died for us. If we are followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us. We’re priceless. We’re God’s masterpieces. May we love Him by making Him proud of how we love from the inside out!