DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

When I was a child I was taught once again by my sweet grandmother this old wise saying,”You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Well the older I get the more I find this to be true. So let me give you a few examples. Somebody say, “Break it down Brown!” Last night I attended a meeting at a diner in South Philly on Broad Street. Now when I first heard that the meeting was at a diner I was ready to settle for a meal that would at best be just ok or average but nothing to write home about. Well when I got there and I saw the place I saw that it was definitely a Diner. But when I got inside it looked very modern, neat and clean. The choices on the menu were vast and the prices were extremely reasonable. I ordered baked fish, mashed potatoes and collard greens. Oh yeah soup and hot rolls came with it. Well I’ve got to tell you that the food was so good it would, as they say, make you wanna smack your Momma.  This was proof that what is on the inside not the outside that counts. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Here’s another example: One Sunday I was visiting a church and this young fellow was called upon to sing a solo. He had on some old worn out jeans. His shoes were run over and they looked like they needed to be polished last week. His shirt was wrinkled, rough-looking and hanging out. He was wearing a beat up dingy sport coat and his hair was uncombed. But when he opened his mouth and began to sing two great old hymns of the church namely, “Holy Holy Holy and Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, he caused the Spirit of God to move from heart to heart and breast to breast. When he was done, there wasn’t a dry eye in the church. Folk were shouting and giving GOD the praise. Surely he didn’t look like he could sing like that. What is on the inside not the outside that counts. You see, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Oh let me give you a better example. There was a nation of people called the Israelites who were waiting for their heaven-sent Messiah and King. They expected Him to be rich, of royal blood and a mighty warrior. They thought He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire  and sit as their King. But when He was born He was born in a manger that was in the back of an alley. His mother was an unwed poor teenage women and His step father was a carpenter. He never had a real address. In fact He once said He didn’t have a place to lay his head. Wow, He was homeless.  When He decided to come to town He rode in on a donkey and not a chariot. Then He died on a cross like and with common thieves. But the story doesn’t end there. You see, three days later early Sunday morning, the earth began to shake. The stone in front of the grave, rolled away and He got up with all power in His hands. For He was and He is The Lord of Lords and The King of Kings. He was and He is The Author and Finisher of Our Faith. He was and He is The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End! Beloved it is what is on your inside not the outside that counts. O’ grand-momma was right you can’t judge a book by its cover! So I ask you today, how do you judge the people you meet and see?  Somebody needs to say “Amen Rev you preached today.” LOL.