All about appearance
The world tells us it’s all about appearance.
That we’re only worth loving if we look right.
That people will judge us by how we look, so how we look is of utmost importance.
The world tells us how to look. How to stay young. How to create a good impression.
The world tells us what clothes are best for our shape, what colours look best on us, what cream is best for our skin type.
The world tells us what labels to wear, what’s in fashion, what’s hot and what’s not.
Appearance is a massive industry.
We adjust our bodies and hair and wardrobe and make up to create the individual that we want others to see.
But God looks at the heart.
God looks past all that to the heart.
It’s as if He doesn’t see any of that at all. All that effort we put into dressing up to create a good impression and our outward appearance doesn’t impress God at all.
His gaze is fixed on our hearts. The essence of who we are.
No amount of designer labels or make up can disguise the state of our hearts.
It’s the beauty of our heart that matters.
The forgiveness, the honesty, the integrity. The love, the kindness, the wonder. The respect, the joy, the sense of justice.
Those are what make us beautiful.
God looks beyond the externals.
So when we say we’re sorry, He looks at the heart.
When we say we love Him, He looks at the heart.
When we say we care for others, He looks at the heart.
When we do good in the world. He looks at the heart.
When we give, He looks at the heart.
When we worship Him, He looks at the heart.
Rend your heart
and not your garments. Joel 2:13
Transformation starts on the inside. It works its way from the inside out.
It’s time we stopped judging others by outward appearance.
Time we stopped being impressed by how someone looks.
Time we gave more attention to what others are like on the inside.
It’s time we focused more time and energy on how beautiful we are on the inside than on the outside.
Time we stopped being enslaved to advertising and fashion and beauty treatments.
Let’s focus on what really matters.
