Yesterday my granddaughter and I decided to get out of the house and took our cameras with us. Unlike previous times, she had the better camera and is better acquainted with hers than I am with my little point and shoot gadget. She wanted to go to the park in Dade City and I reluctantly agreed. You see, we had been there several times and I didn't think we would see anything new. I was wrong. Right away she took some pictures of this sign and at first I wondered why. After all, we had taken pictures of it before, so why do it again? Then I noticed something; Dade City had refurbished it, so it looked like new. Nice sign!!! If she could notice it, so could others, so I took a picture of Lizzie taking a picture and then my own picture of it as well. Then, I wondered about the back side of it. You know- the side no one sees. As expected, it was not quite so nice. Respectable, but just not even close to the front. As I thought about this, I remembered David and Bathsheba from the old testament and the following passage from the New Testament...
2 Corinthians, Chapter 5
1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. 2 For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven; 3 if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked. 4 For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. 10 For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Most people want to get to heaven. They come up with all sorts of rationale to "approve" of their chosen lifestyles and still believe they are pleasing to God. But God knows who and what we are; both the good and the bad. People view us as Lizzie looks at the sign- head on at the manicured side. But only God sees the not so nice reverse (or private side). We may try to cover up our failures, shortcomings and rebellions by using some smokescreen (like the bushes do for the sign) but God sees everything and will judge us fairly in the life after life. Now, we all SIN, we all FALL SHORT, we all FAIL in some way or other, but if we try to please God in all that we do, we will gradually get closer and closer to perfection. The apostle John puts it this way...
1 John, Chapter 1
5 This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Signs are out there to make you aware of something and today would be a good time to think about your private life. WHY you do the things you do and what you THINK about. It is not too late, go ahead spruce up your life a bit- even the "hidden parts". God can help!!!
PS. I thought my point and shoot camera took some pretty nice pictures!!! Maybe I could do better with a high end camera - maybe not!!!