Lookin’ Good!

Its what’s inside that counts. Right? Then why is our culture so obsessed with how things look? Need a few examples? How many ads have you seen this week that have to do with our appearance? Makeup, clothes, hair products, home decorating, exercise & body building, and the list continues. If you judge by what you see in the media, and that’s an extremely powerful influence on our culture, you’d have to agree that its what’s outside that counts. How we appear in the world is what counts. What we see in our culture is a false, perverted, almost opposite version of what is really important, because what’s inside is more important that what’s outside.

We all know that who we are is more important than what we look like. We all know what’s inside is what really matters. Yet we probably spend more time looking good than we do working on our character, working on who we are. I don’t just want to look good, I want to be good. I don’t just want the appearance of goodness, I want to have a heart that is good. I hope that’s what everyone wants.

Please, don’t neglect your appearance. We do like seeing you looking your best. But put it in perspective. What if I worked as hard on being good as I did on looking good? What if we spent more time praying that we did primping? What if we spent more time reading God’s Word than we spent working out? I confess, I need to spend more time on the things that build my character. I need to spend more time and effort on being good. I want to do the things that transform me in the image of Christ, which should be every Christian’s desire. Worship, pray, read God’s Word, spend time with God’s people, give your life in the service of others… invest your time and effort on being good, and not just looking good. And be reminded that we can never be good without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. Ultimately, He makes us good. But the Christian’s life doesn’t just rest on His grace. We must also work hard to become more like Him every day.

Thank you Lord for the rain!

Having lived for 20+ years in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, I was accustomed to long periods without rain. I thought my move to Southeast Texas would end all of that. But apparently you can live a stone’s throw from the ocean and experience drought.

We’ve had an extremely dry spring here. I think our rainfall is about 20 inches below normal. Last week the Orange County Airport had reported between 4 and 5 inches for our yearly total. In a part of the world called “wet Texas” we’ve seen dry, burned landscapes, we’ve had burn bans, forest fires, grass fires, cracks in the ground, extremely low lake levels and many other things associated with drought.

Yet with the rain this week, maybe doubling our annual rainfall, I’ve been reminded of this fact. My efforts to keep my yard alive are pitifully inadequate compared to what the rain can do. Its amazing how quickly the grass responds to some real rainfall. I could water night and day and not get the same results as a couple of good showers.

I believe there is a parallel in our spiritual lives as well. We can do a lot of “spiritual” things to keep our spiritual lives healthy and vibrant like they should be. So many of these things are like watering the yard. They don’t do nearly the good that the Word of God and prayer can do. Reading the Bible and talking with God in prayer will do more for our spiritual lives than anything else. Keep doing those things that help, like reading, hanging out with God’s people, doing things to help others, but don’t neglect reading the Bible and talking with God. I’ve had those times when I’ve neglected these and I regret it. God wants us to have abundant lives. We can’t have it without His Word and prayer.