As a young homemaker, I enjoyed cleaning our house from top to bottom. The trouble was, it never stayed clean for long. Eventually I discovered that if I kept our house reasonably tidy, it appeared to be clean even when it wasn't. Gradually I concentrated more on the appearance of a clean house and neglected thorough cleaning. This compromise was not only convenient, it was convincing. Sometimes even I was fooled, until one sunny day when my clean-looking house was revealed for what it was--dusty and dirty!

In Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites who concentrated on the appearance of holiness while neglecting heart-holiness (Mt. 23:25). When the light of Jesus shone on them, He revealed the truth about their outwardly religious life. He didn't say these external acts were necessarily wrong, but they were wrongfully used as a coverup for wickedness. For them, inner housecleaning was long overdue.

Keeping up appearances in our housework isn't serious, but pretending our hearts are clean is. Only those who are clean on the inside will welcome Jesus with confidence when He returns. Is your heart ready, or is inner housecleaning needed? Now is the time to take care of it!  — Joanie Yoder