I Can See Right Through You!

 

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f you've ever had the lovely experience of cleaning up the kitchen after a large meal, this Tidbit is for you.  As we grew older, my mother would ask my brother, my sister, and I to help clean the kitchen. Sometimes we wouldn't mind it, but most of the time it wasn't our favorite thing to do. We really wanted to watch TV or, as we got older, talk on the phone, go visit a friend, etc. Cleaning the kitchen was not on my top ten list of fun things to do. But then again, it wasn't on my mom's either. 
 
Clearing the table of dirty dishes and putting things away in the refrigerator or the pantry was the primary task after supper.  Things needing refrigeration were placed into containers or covered over with plastic wrap. Now, hands down, one of the most frustrating things with which to work is plastic wrap. It clings together so that you can never get it completely smoothed out and a constant battle ensues until the wrap is placed on the container, effectively preserving the food inside for several days.   
 
Plastic wrap, however, does have some positive qualities. Since it is transparent, it allows the contents of its container to be inspected.  One look through the plastic and it becomes evident if the food inside is fresh or stale, edible or not, healthy or unhealthy.  The wrap, although on the outside, does not prevent someone from seeing what is on the inside. In addition, the plastic wrap preserves the contents, keeping germs and bacteria away from the food.  Like most other things in life, the initial battle, i.e. struggling with the plastic wrap, is worth the eventual gain even though it doesn't seem so at first. 
 
One particular Sunday morning, I was introduced to a different kind of transparent shield, one that allows a deep look into the human heart and one that still preserves all that is good and prevents contamination from the bad influences of the world.  The church I was attending had a large and effective ministry to special-needs individuals. Each Sunday morning at 9:15, the early service was filled with these "special friends." On occasion, they performed music and on this particular Sunday morning they did just that. 
 
The song had a beautiful melody and as I sat there listening to it, I felt God's presence in a very real way. However, the words were very powerful, simple and penetrating. As I watched the choir, over twenty people sang the song "Heavenly Father."  The words were an open, honest, uncomplicated prayer to God. The choir's faces glowed, and they sang with all their hearts because they believed what they sang and gave it their all. Through their song, God was both honored and glorified and the audience was touched.  There was such a sense of worship that descended on our sanctuary as God was worshiped "in spirit and in truth." This, after all is the kind of worship Jesus said God desires. 
 
Standing before us that Sunday morning were all kinds of containers: some small, some tall, some young, some older, some blond, some brunette. Despite all their differences, the one thing they had in common was transparency. They opened their hearts and their souls without reservation and allowed all of us to see what they had on the inside. What they had was true joy, true love, true peace, and true satisfaction, all of the things the world longs for and never finds. Although the exteriors were different, they all were sealed with God's plastic wrap, preserving his light within them and preventing the influences of life from spoiling them. 
 
1 Peter 3:3-4 speaks to this point. Here, Peter is addressing women and their outward appearance.  However, I believe these are words we all need to hear, both men and women. On this particular Sunday morning, I observed true worship, worship from the heart, worship from a sense of love and devotion, worship stemming from only the desire to sing and praise the Lord in church.  What a lesson our "special friends" taught us all. The question now is, will we learn it. Notice Peter's words to us, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." 
 
If the door of your life were opened today and its contents observed, what would someone see?  Are you transparent?  Is the covering on your life like plastic wrap, allowing full access to the content of your life?  Is your life for Christ being preserved and protected, or has the world crept in and begun to decay your influence?  Either way, the world can see right through you. So, what does your life look like today?