It has long been said that pastors and ministers live in a "glass house". I guess that means that everything they do and say is under a microscope because every one is watching them. Some people are probably even watching them just to see when they mess up. There is not a lot of privacy when you live the life of a pastor's family and every little action is being critiqued from everyone, folks inside the church and out. I have always embraced this truth. And other than the occasional amusement when some one says something like, "Where were you yesterday,your car was gone from 12-3," it never really bothers me. I don't know maybe I just don't feel like we have a lot to hide, not because we are perfect just because we are normal people striving to live a life worthy of our calling and learning as we go.
But it occurred to me this morning that God wants all of His followers to do more than live in "glasses houses" he wants us to have "glass hearts". If people could really look into my house from all sides, they would see the laundry piled up to my knee in my room, the girls closet which is a disaster and the nasty stuff that grows in my refrigerator. And how are our lives and hearts the same? If people around us could look at our hearts from all sides what would they see? What kind of nasty stuff is growing in there? That may be a frightening thought for some of us. We try so hard to put on a facade that looks like we have everything together. We are afraid of what our peers and fellow believers would think if they saw the inner turmoil that we have. We fake it painting over the problems, fears and questions we have, to appear perfect. God calls us to a life of authenticity, which means we will have "glass hearts", letting our true condition out, not masking over it with what we say and how we look. This is how God sees us anyway, He sees straight through our appearances into our hearts. If our peers around us, who are watching us whether we like it or not, were able to see in our hearts and know that we are not perfect, just trying to love Jesus and live it out, that would be so much more attractive to them than the front we put up, that they can probably see through already. We are all going to have days when we struggle, days when we doubt, days when we can hardly keep our heads above water, and if we all had "glass hearts" we would be more able to help each other out and ask for help, since it would be clear that no one has it all figured out. Examine your heart today and you may see it needs some cleaning up, and hopefully you will understand that covering it up doesn't do you or anyone else any good. Strip it down to the "glass heart" God intended.
"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your TRUTH; give me an undivided HEART, and I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my HEART,; I will glorify your name forever." Psalms 88: 11-12
i fill like this is really tryin to tell me something .....such as that im not spending anough time with god because i am always making excuses like having to go to school and i am having a rough day or i watching my aunts kids. and that i should not only worship god when i am around that i should worship him each and every day no matter whats going on around my house and i shouldnt try to avoid god just cuz my friends dont think i should and its telling me that i dont always do whats right in gods eyes expessiully when my friends are around and it just make me fill really dirty and thats why i should try to clean myself up and start spending each day of my life trying to show that i am jesus child and start showing him more love and trying to get others to know him and how amazing jesus really is and how much he really helps in my and others life and i am not always perfect but that doesnt give a reason to not spend time with god because god has changed me but i havent been showing it recently and fill really bad about it but when i read this it was like god was telling me that i need to get out of my bubble and not to be afraid to let my friends know what i believe in and the fact of them having to deal with it and that i shouldnt be afraid to be judged because god is the one and the way to go and thank you so much for writing this passage because it really made me think alot and pleae pray for me(hint hint i bet you cant guess who i am) i love you heather!!!!
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