What's Inside of the Box?

     It won't be long till Christmas and you will be seeing beautifully gifted wrap presents. Some will be store wrapped and others will be done by yourself. The decorative paper and ribbon will make the present look impressive. But even with all that work done on the outside we will still judge the value of the present of what is on the inside. No matter how beautiful you make the gift wrapping its whats on the inside that counts.
    Another example if we were to buy a car that caught our eye, meaning will were impressed by the outside package. Then we get inside and take it for a drive and the car breaks down on the road. What happens to our opinion of the car? We would probably hate it. Even if the car looks good to us, our value of the car would be low.
     Again here is another example. When we go shopping at a grocery store, we see many cakes, cookies and pastries that look good to us. We judge them to be delicious by what we see but it is when we actually buy them and taste them we know for sure how good they are. What we see on the outside can be deceiving.
     God also places more value on what is on the inside than the outside. In first Peter 3:3,4 Peter said, "³Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of the hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- ⁴but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." First Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
     God is looking past our appearance and looking inside our heart. God is not impressed with pretty wrapping but with the content within. So if our appearance is less than society's standards God will still accept us if our heart's condition is right. Who are we trying to impress anyway God or man? The one who gives eternal life or those who worship the temporary.
     What's inside of the box? We have to guess but God knows.