THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Monday, November 13, 2023

Lord, I’m humored by the story of the defiant little girl who refused to sit down while riding in the car. Her mother kept telling her to sit down but she refused and continued to stand up. Finally, the mom pulled over and threatened the daughter with a spanking. She sat down, but as they drove away, she told her mom, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.”

How many Christ followers are like that little tyke? In social settings, we exchange pleasantries, adjust our behavior, maybe cleanup our conversations, to appear sociable. But in our hearts, we may harbor animosity, resentments, or other negative traits. The front we see in others may not be who they really are. Likely, they are thinking the same of us. The “we” that we present isn’t necessarily who “we” are.

Lord, the ancients struggled with the same concerns. They kept the Law on the “outside” by their behavior, but in their hearts, they rebelled against your precepts. You addressed this in your Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). We should obey the laws of God, but obeying the Law in your heart is what you desire. As you told the woman at the well (John 4), God the Father seeks those who will worship, [obey] him with our heart.

As you detailed each of the commandments, you added an addendum, which began with, “But I say, if in your heart ….” You emphasized the spirit of the Ten Commandments is to obey God’s spiritual laws in our hearts, not just on the outside.

Lord, when you tell us to sit, may we sit on our inside as well. Amen, Jesus.