On The Outside
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. Galatians 6:14-16
My wife is amazing. In our marriage, my wife and I have gotten to a place where we do things for each other just because we know the other would appreciate it. I’ve mentioned things I have done, but here is one that she does faithfully. She is always concerned about my appearance as to what I wear to work. She wants to ensure that my pants look pressed, and my shirt is ironed. It is not something that I expect from her like an old-fashioned husband would of his wife. It is not to earn my approval or gain favor with me. It is just how we work together. She simply volunteers to do it, and each morning, my shirt and slacks are available for me. I love what she does in servitude. If you ask her, she will tell you she does it out of love. That being said, it could also be said that we love the person inside far more than how we look on the outside.
As Christians, we should always focus on who we are in Jesus Christ and not how we appear to be. In today’s verses, Paul is teaching that acts focused on proving self-alignment with God are useless. It is likening the act of circumcision to an act of faith and is like the saying in James of “faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (James 2:17b) One of the attributes of Paul is the shamelessness about who he was in Christ. He was focused on appearance but not in the traditional outward appearance way. It was to say his focus was on who he was in Christ. Regardless of His look, his consistency of representing Christ ensured people perceived his appearance from within him and not any outward or worldly attachments. Paul boasted about Jesus, and His grace was given to save him. Most importantly, it was critical that he shared this news to all who would listen from the Romans to the Corinthians, Galatians, Thessalonians, and all others for God’s glory and not his own. We too are also given opportunities to attribute our successes to God and profess of the wonderful and glorious things He has done for us. Yet, we are often shackled by fear of a worldly flawed ‘appearance’ or perceptions caused by others who also are Christian but may not truly represent who Christ is. I know I have failed on occasion, but what I have found is admission of failure and what God has done with that failure is often more powerful than giving an aura of perfection that is neither true nor realistic. We all fall short of God’s glory. This is why Paul said, “Each time [God] said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” Thus, our mission is twofold. First, we are to love God, and we are to love others as we love ourselves. Second, we are to acknowledge to others only Christ is perfect, and through our imperfections, we are made perfect as Paul says, “by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2a) This is how our appearance shows less of who we were before Christ and more of the transformed person we are in Him.
When God’s spirit is on the inside, it shines through us. We do not need to worry about what we say or how we may be perceived. Once we choose Christ as our Lord and Savior in our hearts, miraculously the transformation will take hold. It does not imply we are rid of our sinful nature cold turkey. What it does mean is that we grow closer with each choice we make for Him. Let our appearance to others be the whole armor of God Paul speaks of (see Ephesians 6:10-19). What parts can you show less of your will and more of God’s? Who can you share a truer vision of who God is? My prayer is that we focus on who God is in us and less on who others may say we are on the outside. Amen.