Washed Clean

I read the following verse and it really made me reflect on the fact that it is very easy to get caught up in our outward appearance.

Matthew 23:24-26 (NIV)
24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

I find that I often make assumptions about people based on what they wear, how they talk, and who they hang out with. This hit me the other day when my wife purchased a couple of peaches at a road side stand. Outwardly they looked and smelled fantastic. When we got home she washed one and cut it open. The outside of the peach looked perfect, but on the inside she found an earwig and mold around the pit. My whole perception of that peach changed instantly. I often wonder how different it would be if people could see what our hearts truly looked like all the time. My prayer is that Christ would wash my heart clean each day and that I would try to see past the bobbles of this world and treat those around me with the love of Christ.