The God of the Interior

Blake Barbera

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot”

Matthew 5:13

We’ve all heard the saying before: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” If a teacher or mentor didn’t say it, then surely it was said by mom or grandma. The saying is true. You really can’t judge a book by its cover, or at least it would be unwise to do so.

The funny thing is, the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” has almost nothing to do with book covers. It has everything to do with book content – with what’s on the inside.

Have you ever touched water that isn’t wet? How about tasted salt that isn’t salty? Un-salty salt is an oxymoron. In fact, pure salt (sodium chloride) cannot lose its saltiness. So, what was Jesus getting at?

Much like when grandma said, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” and probably wasn’t talking about books, Jesus wasn’t talking about salt. He was talking about his followers – those who belong to him – and the substance of their hearts.

Here Jesus stresses one of the most important elements of the Gospel message: He didn’t come to create robots or un-salty salt. The last thing Jesus wants is to see our “book covers” all dressed up while our insides are decaying. God is a God of the interior, and His chief concern is not your service toward him or your “appearing” to be his follower. His main focus is your wholeness and restoration on the inside.

Remember, being a Christian is about more than going to church or “putting your best foot forward.” It’s about knowing through Jesus the God who created you and being transformed by that knowing from the inside-out.