{"id":374,"date":"2011-09-07T12:03:53","date_gmt":"2011-09-07T16:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/smalltownamerica\/?p=374"},"modified":"2011-08-31T12:06:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-31T16:06:20","slug":"inside-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2011\/09\/inside-the-house.html","title":{"rendered":"Inside The House"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a> They say you can’t judge a book by its cover.\u00a0 I wonder if one can tell a house by its exterior design and landscaping.\u00a0 This beautiful house is located in my home town.\u00a0 I have always admired it’s beauty and all the delicate woodworking that it displays.\u00a0 It has lovely roses and lion statues; but I wonder what kind of people live inside.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some of the most evil people in the world live in the most expensive homes.\u00a0 They have\u00a0 swimming pools and tennis courts, beautiful gardens and employees to take care of them.\u00a0 Many have more rooms than they need and all kinds of extra frills to impress the neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now this little house is one we drive past every week on the way to church.\u00a0 No fancy statues or bushes and flowers.\u00a0 Basically a plain looking place.\u00a0 They have no swimming pool or rose gardens, but what if they have something better?\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have seen children playing in the yard.\u00a0 They seem happy and well cared for.\u00a0 This house is even smaller than mine and I can’t imagine several children living in my home.\u00a0 Our guest room is smaller than many\u00a0 bathrooms.\u00a0 Perhaps this home is based on trust and love.\u00a0 Perhaps this family loves Jesus and shares His love and compassion with others.\u00a0 Perhaps they know that our success is not based on our property or how many fancy things we have.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know not all beautiful homes have bad people in them and not all little houses have wonderful families in them.\u00a0 The point is; we can’t know what is inside by looking at the outside.\u00a0 We can’t really know what goes on behind closed doors.\u00a0 People can act in one way when around others and be totally different with their families.\u00a0 Only God knows the truth about all things and all men.\u00a0\u00a0 I do know that pretty flowers and ornamental statues, fountains and big yards can’t make a house\u00a0 a home.\u00a0 Only love can do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0God does not judge us by our outward appearance and behaviour, He knows what is in our hearts.\u00a0 He can see through all the frills and pretense or the pain and despair.\u00a0 He knows us as we truly are.\u00a0 So it is with houses, or so I believe,\u00a0 so let’s not judge a house by it’s outward appearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They say you can’t judge a book by its cover.\u00a0 I wonder if one can tell a house by its exterior design and landscaping.\u00a0 This beautiful house is located in my home town.\u00a0 I have always admired it’s beauty and all the delicate woodworking that it displays.\u00a0 It has lovely roses and lion statues;…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[11,29],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-convictions","tag-family"],"yoast_head":"\nInside The House - Small Town America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2011\/09\/inside-the-house.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside The House - 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