White Washed Tomb

         This is what a white washed tomb looks like in the picture, beautiful on the outside and ugly in the inside. I searched this picture on one of these websites called Options for Men. Jerry, who is a sheriff, realizes that he falls into the same routine every morning as he wakes up. He puts on his badge with a seven point star and gets ready for work. However, his job description is a "Scientific Investigations Supervisor." As reflects on his life and those that work with him, he calls to mind that all of his friends have the same badge and uniform within the Institution.

There is a good insight in the life of Jerry that can reflect the lives of every Christian. The human race has something in common that is the physical appearance of being human. Each person has an appearance that reflects an identity of who the person is in society and family background. The only difficulty with the appearance is that it keeps others from looking into the heart of the person. For instance, when God was disappointed with King Saul, he told the prophet Samuel to anoint a son from the house of Jesse. Samuel began to judge, according to human perception, the appearance of each son. He thought it was the boy that looked handsome, strong, intelligent, and of good character. The Lord, however, told him otherwise. The Lord said to Samuel that men judge according to human appearance, but He judges the person's heart. Samuel, then, tells Jesse if there was another son around because the Lord did not choose any of them. Sure enough Jesse tells Samuel that David was out tending the flock. David was a handsome man, but he did not have all the qualities that his brothers had. David pleased the Lord by searching and following the Lord's heart.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Woe to you Pharisees, you hypocrites! you are like whitewashed tombs, you appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth" (Mt. 23:27). The Pharisees liked to walk in high places where the people were able to see their nice garments, character, authority, function, and education. To be a Pharisee meant to be a strict follower of the law that was concerned with purity rituals. Jesus bashes them with words that strike the heart of every person. He admonish for looking good on the outside. They would not recognize their sins because it was covered up with their hypocrisy. In fact, their laws and practices meant that they did not need a savior because they were perfect.

At times, Christians can be just like the Pharisees, beautiful in the outside but corrupt in the inside. A person who is like a white washed tomb is a person that has not discovered the love of Christ in their lives. The Pharisees had no love for the people or their neighbor; they rejected the poor, despised the sinner, kept kingdom away from others unless they were part of the group. The same can happen to Christians who do not discover the love of God by loving their neighbor.

Moreover, Jesus said that inside of the tomb there is dead men's bones and disgusting things. The dead man is the person who has not been able to let go of his past or sins in his lives. He continues to live a life of sin by not allowing Christ to enter into his tomb, which is the heart. Some Christians say, "Yeah Christ died for my sins and I have the confidence in this." But this is not the reality, because to be believe that Christ died for our sins is to have the conviction that love covers our sins and fills our emptiness.

Let us look beyond appearances and search the heart. It is in the heart where the true presence of Christ must reign. If the love of Christ does not reign in the heart of man, then the person would imitate the pharisee. Christ comes and he speaks his Word to humanity. He enters the heart of the person to remove the filth and hypocrisy, so that His love can be evidence of victory and truth.