The Inside Work

Luke 11: 37-44

37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 40 “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. 44 “Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

My wife and I have been having renovations done on our house. Most of it has gone swimmingly; a few things have been unexpected pains. Our inconveniences are shorter than most folks doing renovations; but, they still seem to last far too long. Frankly, we are ready for it all to be over.

During the course of renovations, I was reminded of a story a friend told about working with his father as a child. My friend's father was a contractor, and during the summers away from school, my friend would tag along to the job sites. My friend was always excited to see the craft his father applied; he thought it was amazing how a house would seemingly rise from nothing into a hospitable dwelling.

Though my friend remembered many good times with his father, he also remembered a common occurrence between his father and his father's customers. Customers watching the progress of their new houses would always be amazed at how quickly the frames would take shape on their properties. From the curb, the progress of building a house would seem to rush forward at a blistering pace, until the frame and roof were completed.

"My goodness, it's almost done!" these people would say, "There's no reason you shouldn't finish ahead of schedule!"

These same people would get frustrated when the contractor relayed to them that, in fact, there was a lot work left to me done. While the outside of the house looked fully-finished to the passerby; it was, in fact, a facade. If one were to go inside the house, one would see wires strewn about and walls still open. The house would be cold from lack of a furnace, and would not have water running.

"They just don't understand," my friend's father would lament, "the outside work is easy; it's the inside work that takes the time."

Christ's admonition of the Pharisee's is that they have spent too much time minding their own window dressings, while the inside of their houses remain barren. Presenting a responsible and clean appearance, the Pharisees appeared to be heroes of the faith; people whose loyalty to the Law allowed them to live holier lives that the people they lectured. What Christ knew, however, was that their act was a facade.

In Midian, we like our lawns to be manicured; we give the evil eye to the poor neighbor who takes a week too long to bring in his Christmas decorations. Everything should be...just...so. When friends come over, we clean up....but only the rooms we expect them to visit. The family room might sparkle; but, the guest bedroom hasn't been clean for months.

Our attitudes with our houses, sometimes, are not terribly different from our spiritual lives. Focusing on those aspects which our friends and neighbors judge us on, we go through the motions of being a good person: we go to church, we dress ourselves presentably, we hang out with the right people. For many of us, though, this is a facade... our exterior lives are perfect; but, our "inside work" is in a shambles.

What Jesus tells the Pharisees is a good lesson for all of us. God is very concerned with "the inside work;" and like the master craftsmen, He will take His time and carve out of us a new creation...a beautiful home for His spirit to reside in. We need to know that this inside work is even more critical than the outside, and so order our lives that the work may take hold.