Friday, May 1, 2015

More Than Meets the Eye

1 Samuel 16:7  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

As humans we put a lot of value on what people look like. What they wear, how many piercings and tattoos they have or we see how fat or thin someone is. We look at the outside appearance and assume that we know exactly what a person is like.

We assume that someone wearing the latest fashion, perfectly coloured hair, straight, white teeth and a perfect body is someone to look up to. We assume that a homeless person who is wearing shoes that could hold a conversation and a beanie on his greasy unwashed head is lazy and should just get off the street and earn a living like the rest of society.

We assume that a businessman is rich and happy, We assume a mom that stays at home with her kids does nothing all day and does nothing to contribute to the family finances and we assume a working mom doesn't care about her kids and would rather work and make parenting their own child someone else's problem.

We assume so much by what people do for a living and by what they wear.

In 1 Samuel 16 it tells about how God sent Samuel to anoint the the next king of Israel. Samuel looked at David's brothers and saw that they were all tall, strapping lads and looked like Kings but God told Samuel not to look at the outside appearance.

When God sees each of us He sees right past what we do and our appearance and He sees our heart and who He created us to be.
God created David to be a King but God saw that this man was a man after His own heart. He saw that David loved deeply. All everyone else saw was a little boy but God knew better.

We all need to start seeing others as Jesus sees them. He looks deep inside beyond all the layers of appearance, hate, insecurity and hopelessness and sees so much more. Just as when you look into the night sky and only see a few stars. It is only when you zoom in with a very strong telescope that begin to see galaxies, planets and moons.

When you come across someone today who you have never met and you see their appearance, stop and look deeper and ask God how He sees them.

That stylish woman with perfect hair and teeth is probably going through a life that is very far from perfect and although she may look perfect on the outside she my be very lonely and in need of a friend who will love her no matter what secrets she is holding captive inside.
The homeless man may have looked for a job many times but he gets looked down on for his appearance.

How do we treat people? Those who are different, do we treat them with love and acceptance for them as a unique God created human being or do we judge first by appearance?

God sees the heart and I am glad for it because if God judged me by appearance I wouldn't stand a chance. But because He has created me and formed me and knows me He sees who I am. He knows what I am going through. He is a personal God who cares about my heart and He cares about yours.

But most of all He cares about the heart of the unlovely. There is more to a person than meets the eye.



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