My wife, Martie, is a careful shopper when it comes to buying healthy and nutritious food. No matter how attractive the packaging looks, she checks the list of ingredients on the back of the box. Lots of difficult-to-pronounce words usually suggest the food won’t be very nutritious. She always puts those items back on the shelf and continues to look for labels with lists of natural food products that contribute to good health.

I’ve often thought that her shopping habits are a lot like what God is looking for in our lives: it’s what’s on the inside that counts, regardless of how attractive the outside might be. It’s no wonder that the wise teacher of Proverbs warns us to guard what goes into our hearts, “for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Wearing the right fashions and keeping ourselves looking young are of little importance if our hearts harbour greed, hatred, grumpiness, self-pity and other counter-productive contents.

So, ask yourself: when others get past the packaging of my life, do they experience a heart full of healthy, Christ-honouring ingredients? By putting in grace, kindness, patience and compassion, we’ll reflect the wonderful nature of Christ.

When we change on the inside we reflect the nature of Christ on the outside.

Author

Joe Stowell

Topics

Our Daily Bread