It’s in the Heart
he pastor said to the congregation, “We are going to take a silent offering right now. If you are going to put any change in the offering plate – so it won’t make any noise – wrap it up in some paper money.”
He went on to tell a story about the time that Billy Graham accidentally put a $20 bill in the offering, thinking it was a dollar bill. He leaned over to his wife, Ruth, and told her what he had done. “Don’t worry,” replied Ruth, “the Lord will only give you credit for the dollar bill you intended to give.”
Throughout the Gospels we find this message from our Lord occurring over and over again: WHAT WE DO ON THE OUTSIDE HAS TO MATCH UP WITH WHAT IS GOING ON ON THE INSIDE. We have the tendency to look at outward appearances and actions whereas God looks at inward motives and thoughts. Jesus said to the scoffing Pharisees who were lovers of money, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:14,15)
Jesus also said that the first and greatest commandment is that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. (Matthew 22:36) The question is, how do we do this? Well, I believe it is a growing process with distinct stages.
| STAGES | INSIDE | OUTSIDE | HEART STATUS |
| 1ST | We don’t | We don’t | Selfish/hard heart |
| 2ND | We don’t | We do | Hypocritical heart |
| 3RD | We do | We don’t | Good-intentioned heart |
| 4TH | We do | We do | Pure heart |
And that’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
Rev. Wendell Mettey
3/5/1990
Revised 9/28/ 2013
