In The Blink Of An Eye

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

It happens in the blink of an eye. Our gaze shifts from what God has given us to what he has given someone else, and we start to covet what they have. We glance in the other direction when slandering our neighbor and then brush it off as a joke. We click a button, and it leads us down a rabbit hole to a destructive habit.

Patterns of sin can be blatantly obvious at times, and other times they can be as inconspicuous as a chameleon. Jesus said it clearly: it is possible to appear righteous while having a heart still entrenched in sin (see Matthew 23:28).

We live in a world that’s obsessed with outward appearances. Simply scroll social media or spend a few minutes online, and you’ll be bombarded by ads to help you lose weight, burn fat, or get a flat tummy in just seven minutes a day. You’ll find life hacks for all your organizational woes and regular reminders of all you need to do to get your home and wardrobe up to date.

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees over their sin, he did not address their outward obedience. His concern was their inward pride. These men of the law were outwardly obsessed with appearing righteous, yet their hearts were not aligned with God. In the words of Jesus, they were “blind guides,” “whitewashed tombs,” “hypocrites”—“full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:24-27). On the outside, the Pharisees were put-together spiritual giants, but at their core, they were dead. Jesus regularly spoke against the Pharisee’s love of the law, because in their love for being right, they got it all wrong. They did not see how the law pointed to and was fulfilled by Jesus (see Matthew 5:17-20).

So what does this mean for us as we battle the temptation to display outward acts of righteousness instead of full-fledged commitment to Christ? We must go back to the heart.

Our motives make or break us—they reveal where our allegiance is rooted. We may do the same action but for different reasons. We might serve at church, give to the poor, or make a meal in order to be seen, or we might do those same things quietly out of sincere love for God and his people and for his Kingdom. Only we—and God—know the motivation of our hearts, and only he can purify our motives.

God can transform not only our actions but also our motivations. Because of Christ, we are no longer defined by our shortcomings; our scarlet sins are washed white as snow by his shed blood (see Isaiah 1:18). We walk in grace, turning our gaze back to him who cleanses us from the inside out.

When we come to him, leaving behind hypocrisy and embracing repentance, we are forgiven and set free—in the blink of an eye.

Word before World Because of Christ, our scarlet sins are washed white as snow by his shed blood.

Grow in Grace In what areas of your life are you attempting to cover up sinful heart motivations with outward good works? God sees your heart and desires whole-hearted obedience. Fix your eyes on Christ, repent of your sin, receive his forgiveness, and walk in his grace.