Cloverdale Church of Christ

Karl McLarty

Pulpit Minister



What’s On Your Mind and Heart?

Catherine Prescott was asked recently in an interview why she included books in many of her portrait paintings. Her reason involved showing more about the person than just the physical characteristics. She would visit with the subject and come to know them before attempting to capture them on canvas. By showing the person’s expression while reading a book, she felt that she could communicate a greater depth of understanding than what could be conveyed in a photograph. I thought, as I listened to her explain how she brought out the inner person in a portrait, What a difference it would make in the selection of models if every picture would capture the mind and heart of the subject! How many models would not appreciate a painting that revealed the truth that “there is more to a person than meets the eye”?

The young man in Proverbs 2 is encouraged to work on the interior qualities of wisdom and understanding. I’m sure that the temptation to focus on body sculpting and beauty treatments has always been a distraction from “working out” the heart and mind. Just as the sages in ancient Israel pressed for an emphasis on heart and mind, Christians should continue to profess “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (I Timothy 4:8). “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…it should be that of your inner self…” (I Peter 3:3). Christianity doesn’t disdain the outward appearance, but it places the greater weight on the interior qualities.

Statistics show that Americans are reading less now. So what is filling the inner self? Perhaps the thoughtful chambers of our heart are empty and the sign on our minds reads “vacancy.” Consider the painting of your inner self this week. See if you like what God sees. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7b).



                            ~ Karl

Cloverdale Church of Christ

Minister's Corner