Dry Inside and Out

They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 7:12 ESV). One of my favorite movies is The Godfather. If you have ever watched any of the three in the trilogy you may remember the scene in Part III when the Godfather, Don Corleone, is forced to visit the distinguished Cardinal Lamberto to tell him the bad news that a legitimate business deal involving the Vatican Bank has gone bad. The Archbishop and a coalition of Catholic businessmen run the bank. The Cardinal listens to the Godfather; then he says something quite profound. He picks up a stone and says, “Look at this stone. It has been lying in the water for a very long time. The water has not penetrated it.” Then he smashes the stone. “Look,” he says peering at the smashed insides of the stone, “perfectly dry. The same thing,” the Cardinal continues, “has happened to men in Europe. They have been surrounded by Christianity for centuries, but Christ does not live in their hearts.” This is exactly what happened at the Temple in Jesus' time. There were people there who had been surrounded by the Temple for years, but the God of the Temple had not been allowed to enter their lives nor penetrate their hearts. They had the form of godliness, but not the real thing (cf. 2 Timothy 3:5). Many people attempt to hide from God in church or in some religious ritual. And like so many in Jesus' day the hardest hearts may not be among the ungodly, but among the religious who have all the outward trappings of the godly, but their hearts, like stones, are hard and cold, and they know not God. Very interesting too that the Apostle Paul wrote "there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be … without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them" (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5). How dry are you? I do believe that we are living in unusual days. They may be the last days spoken of in the Scripture. Whether they are or not, we cannot deny the importance of turning our attention to Christ. Surrounding ourselves with the trappings of religion is the worst mistake we may make. The reality of Christ in our lives is the only means to true happiness. Start fresh today and invite the Holy Spirit into your inner being. Let the presence of God transform your thoughts and actions. It will amaze you what a difference it will make.