A gal from a welcoming committee in town came to see me today. She called at 15 minutes after the hour and told me she'd be to my apartment in 45 minutes to give me some community information and gift certificates. As soon as I hung up with her, I gasped as I took a quick look around the room and at myself. I was still in my pajamas and the living room was less than stellar. I could still smell onions in the air from dinner the night before. I hadn't vacuumed in several days. I needed to dust. The room needed tidying, counters needed wiped off, etc. So I quick, like a whirlwind, whipped through the apartment putting things in neat piles, dusting, picking specks off the floor, sweeping the kitchen and porch and spraying a room freshener all over. Then I quick got dressed and applied some make up. Ahhhh. Perfect. I even stood at the front door and looked around the room as if I was a guest, checking for anything that might be out of place. I found a couple more things, then found a couple more. Finally I was pleased with the finished product. My guest came. She sat on my couch, gave me much information to peruse, gave me a welcome hug and was on her way. I don't know that she noticed the fresh smell, tidy piles, clean counters or fluffed pillows. But I sure didn't want her to see the way we REALLY lived.Similarly I went on a website today to play with some photos. On this website, you can change your photos to have soft focus, special effects, tinting, sharpening, brightening and even cover blemishes and whiten teeth. Using a photo of myself shot on my birthday, I brightened my teeth, took away blemishes, cropped it tighter and wa-la ... the finished product of retouched photography. In one photo I even gave myself lilac eyes just for fun! I sure didn't want anyone to see the picture of the REAL me another year older.
Picture perfect living room. Picture perfect photo. Both are a lie. Both are a lie because perfection, as we know, is just not possible. I used to joke with people not to get too used to my face as they see it because in Heaven there's no make up, and they won't recognize me when I get there.
Thankfully, you won't care. Jesus handles all that perfection and does it, well, ... perfectly. And he knows all my flaws and filth and loves me just the same. As the Charlotte Elliott hymn says, "Just as I am thou wilt receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve." Jesus said he went to prepare a place for me, so I'm guessing He's cleaning and tidying, me in particular, to get ready for my arrival. And He says in John 6:37 anyone who comes to Him he will never drive away. Praise the Good Lord for that!
Does that mean I won't clean and put on makeup the next time you come to visit? Ha! Oh, no, I will perpetuate the earthly fantasy ... just please remember to give me enough time to get ready!
Ahh, yes, as Shakespeare put it, "all the world's a stage." We all put on a "face," don paticular clothing, adjust the "props" on our "stage," tell little white lies (and maybe some whoppers at times), and otherwise variously masquerade as we think the situation demands it. As your great-grandmother perpetually called to my attention, in a well-known adage as a reminder, "We can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but we can't fool all of the people all of the time!" Fortunately for Him and for us, God is the only One Who ALWAYS gets it right, about us, because He made us, knows our everything, and looks at our hearts. He is the only One that we cannot fool any of the time! Yet, wonder-of-wonders, if we answer the call of the Good News, He indeed accepts everyone just as (s)he is. When Jesus comes knocking at the door to visit unexpectedly (and he will), one needs to be concerned only about the "condition" of one's heart and nothing else. He will find everything delightful about us. Of course, if we want to reap a few extra rewards, we may obey His commandment to do good works!
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