A few weeks ago after returning home from a basketball practice, I noticed that our house was 4 degrees cooler than our normal thermostat setting. I went downstairs to check the furnace and found that it was completely out. I called for service and the individual over the phone proceeded to inform me of how much it would cost for them to come out that night. The tone of his voice led me to believe that it would be cheaper some other time and he confirmed my suspicions…about $150 cheaper. I responded, “I’ll see you in the morning.” So, the Spradling household settled in for a long, cold night. Fortunately, we had space heaters to keep the bedrooms warm.
The next day our furnace was fixed, but the service tech found more than just one problem. We have a humidifier connected to our furnace. How was I supposed to know that it had a filter that needed to be changed once a year? We’ve lived there for five years. He replaced the filter and left the old one for me to see. It weighed about 10 pounds more than the new one and was covered with mold and other nastiness. For the past five years, filth and debris has been collecting in this filter preventing the water from actually going through to dispense the proper amount of humidity in our house.
Now, I go to the basement quite often. Our kids play down there. We store clothes down there. I even used to run down there on the treadmill (that’s another blog ). I see the furnace almost daily and it’s always looked fine to me. I was completely unaware of this problem that was occurring on the inside with a clogged filter.
How often has this happened in your spiritual life? On the outside, you appear to be fine. You have good relationships. You go to church. You’re in a Life Group. Outwardly, you couldn’t be better. But, on the inside you’ve got a clogged filter and it’s preventing the Living Water (see John 7:37-39) from moving in and through your life.
This was the case of the Pharisees that we read about in the Gospels. Jesus calls them out in Matthew 23:27-28.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
We’re all guilty of putting on a spiritual “mask” because we don’t want people to see the junk that’s really on the inside. Here’s the good news…Jesus wants to deal with your junk. He wants to clean you out. He wants to fix the inside. And if you will surrender yourself long enough for him to shine a light on the dark corners of your heart and eradicate the debris from the world, your outside will look a lot better, too. Your relationships will be richer. Your worship experience will be more authentic. And you will live more like a blood-bought Christ follower should live…abundantly!
Is the Living Water of Jesus Christ flowing freely in your life? If not, it’s time to change the filter of your heart so that the inside to matches the outside. And here’s more good news…the service call is free for charge…regardless of the time of day! Get in God’s Word, but more than that, let God’s Word get in you and change you from the inside out.