Luke 11:37-41
Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.  38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.  39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.  40 “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  41 “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.

This scene is the opposite of the parable we looked at on Sunday.  The story is straightforward.  Jesus is having lunch with a Pharisee.  He is serious about his position and keeping with the commands and actions that are consistent with what someone in his position would do- how they would appear.

Jesus did not conform to this image.  Good people who love God wash the way he does.  And Jesus uses this perception to draw a comparison.

The outside is important.  But did the One who made the outside not make the inside as well.  They are deeply connected.

Yet, too often, we are allowed and often encouraged to focus on the outside without regard to the inside.  This is not the way we were made to live.

The reason I think of this as the opposite of the Money Manager from Luke 16 is that the shrewd money manager did well with what he had, but the connection to what was inside was contrived- he was covering for the mess he was in.

Jesus’ call to this Pharisee over lunch is to give that which is within.  Within the cup?  Possibly.  This could be an invitation to give part of your food and sustenance to those less fortunate.  But that which is within encompasses more.

He is challenging us to not only leverage what we have been trusted with for the Kingdom and to think about and plan for such things.  He wanted us to look inside and align our hearts with his so the outside does not merely appear as love- but it actually is love.  This is a fine line.  But a fine line which should be pondered and surrendered to the work of the Holy Spirit to forge the inside–and then the outside will be clean as well.

Lord, help me to walk this fine line.  It is tempting to appear a certain way- generous or kind or good-hearted.  It is far more challenging to be this way.  Yet, this is Your call on my life.  Peer into my heart and bring into alignment the motives behind my actions and help me to work on them first–so that my actions may be loving because my heart is.  Amen.