Issue 19 - Day 1

2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:7
7)  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

Complete the line of the song, based on the life of David. “Man looks on the outside, but God looks ….” We cannot help but look on the outward appearance of things and people. We are bound by the wavelengths of light that our eyes respond to. Sometimes God is gracious enough to let us discern what is in the hearts of those around us, yet to a great degree we are still influenced by the physical image. Of course, it is also true that what is in someone's heart is what comes out.

So, we trust that we are Christ’s. That is, we believe in him and try to follow him. Paul rightly reminds us to take a look at ourselves. It is easy to look at how people live, what they wear and so on, and make a judgement as to whether or not they are believers. Often we decide, in our arrogance, that any profession of faith this person in front of us made was just words. Time to look in the mirror. The song goes, “so when people see me, they see you.” Is this true? What do you see in the mirror? Does the way you dress say that here is a follower of Christ? Do your mannerisms and speech declare you to be walking in the ways of God? Does your chosen job look like the kind of work a true believer would do?

Having realised just what you look like to others, now take a step back and consider how judgemental you are. Time to look on the inside. Pray that God would let you see what is on the inside. Earnestly desire to see others as He sees them, and keep that mirror, the word of God, handy because it is only in the mirror of God’s word that we truly see see who we are.