‘Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?’ strikes me in the gospel today. In the modern world that I am living in, packages and appearances have been much emphasized on. Look at the advertisements where slimming packages, fashion, plastic surgery, etc. are aggressively promoted or pushed to the consumers. Even a news article which I came across a few weeks ago reported that people with attractive appearances have higher chance of getting employed. I am wondering to myself that that will be the end of me as I don’t have such attractive appearance to fight for jobs against the others in the market. I get worried.
However, as I have been spending regular time with God, meditating on His Word, my worries are reduced gradually though I don’t deny that I still feel quite insecure as a person. The gospel reading today, especially, ‘Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?’ strikes me again. I should set my focus right. Yes, appearance is important as my body is the temple for the Spirit and I have to take care of it since it is a gift from God to me to experience love with the others. But, what is inside is more important. My inner state will be affect how I behave, approach people and things and how I express my words. If I am very wounded, hurt, filled with agony, jealousy, sadness, I am not going to be a light to the others. These inner negativities will be expressed outwardly through my behaviour, words and approach to the others and issues in my life. I will hurt people, sometimes, without even knowing or being intentional.
Therefore, it is important to spend more time with God and His Word. When I am close to God, I will be more aware of Him and open myself for Him to heal me inside slowly so that the Holy Spirit out of the love between God and me will work freely within me and guide me in my daily living and love others in a more Christ way. This will also help me to improve my well being as a person and my quality of life will be improving with the help of God. The world may ‘subconsciously’ set certain rules such as appearance and individualism is more important, creeping and finding their ways into my mind and sitting there. But, my regular time spent with God will keep on reminding me that my mission here is not for myself as mentioned in ‘But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.’ I am here as a child of God to share God’s Love with the others so that I am truly rich deep within and my love is not self centered but more and more Christ centered where it is purer. When I am rich deep within, nothing will affect me too much when these external things such as money, status, people, etc. are taken away from me for my foundation is set on God’s Love and no longer on the external things in the world which are unstable and may be taken away at anytime and will perish with time. Of course, from time to time, I may be distracted by the worldly matters which is why I have to spend time with God daily to draw myself back to Him again and again. Only by sharing the riches in me from God’s Love with the others, then the Kingdom of God will expand and taste of heaven is savoured here with the others from the fruits of love shared with the others which are all parts of mystery of Love.
With Love,
Elena
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