Yes, you look good. But you're also lifeless!

Luke 11:⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

I've heard Jesus say that a dozen times in scripture. Speaking about fig trees, whitewashed tombs, dirty cups... things that look OK on the outside but are rotten in the middle. I've gotta tell you, when I read verses like these, most of the time I think to myself, "Praise God that I'm no Pharisee." It's as if I can just ignore these warnings, because pharisees are legalistic religious jerks, so I don't have to worry about falling in their footsteps.

In a real way, I think I might be missing out on an important point made by Jesus here. Christ isn't just calling them legalistic in these passages or warning them about being "nice." Jesus is arguing (I believe) that one's faith needs to be more than just structure and system, it needs to also be sincere.

There are lots of trees in the Forrest. However, some lack fruit and leaves. They stand tall enough alright, but they also are dead. No water nurtures their core, and they become just lifeless husks. What would I rather be? A living sapling 2 inches tall, or a towering cedar with no life? My life sometimes looks towering. The structure is all there. 2.5 kids, wife, career, friendships, religious heritage, house, and credentials. Still, all I've done is built up structure without life. Rather a little tree with life than a big dead tree. Rather less credentials or success with Jesus than accomplishments without him.

Yes, my tree is big, but is it watered by Christ and bearing his fruit? If not, I'm just a dead tree, a whitewashed tomb, or a dirty cup.