As many of you know, I am a handyman by profession and one of my favorite chores is washing windows. There is this immediate satisfaction seeing a dirty window transformed into a clear sparkling piece of glass. One thing you just are not supposed to do though is to wash windows with the sun shining on them. It is almost impossible to get a streak-free window if you do. So they need to be washed when the sun is not on them. That means that you don’t really know how good a job you did until the sun comes through. That’s when streaks and other abnormalities show up. Washing windows is a matter of trust. My part is to make sure that the squeegee rubbers are in good shape and that my rags are lint-free and that my washing solution is clean and a good mix. Then I just wash, doing what I know is the right way to wash them. If I do all that right, when the sun starts coming through they should be sparkling and streak-free.
I thought today how much our life that we show to people is like window cleaning. If I live my life according to the teachings of G-d’s Word I don’t need to worry about what people are going to see when they see me exposed by what I profess. My life will be transparent and free from the streaks of hypocrisy. But if I allow myself to be influenced into areas of mediocrity in my walk of faith; to take short cuts and compromise my ethical standards; to fudge on the commandments of G-d, it will be revealed to the onlookers in life.
The light of the Word of G-d will always shine through our lives and reveal to others who we really are. In Matthew 12 Yeshua said, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." And in Luke 6, "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” We can only hide who we are from ourselves and it comes by hardening our hearts to the things of G-d and living a life of righteousness according to our own making.
May our Master never say to us, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46)
