But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at His appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
--1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 15, 2013 of Psalm 91; Mark 14:27-52; 1 Samuel 16-17:37.
Because Saul disobeyed God's command to completely destroy the Amalekites, he lost pleasure in the Lord's sight. God turned from Saul and found another to give His blessings to. So He sent Samuel to Bethlehem in Judah, to the house of Jesse. The Lord had instructed Samuel to anoint the one He would point out, but had given Samuel no name. So Jesse paraded his eight sons before Samuel one at a time, starting with the oldest. When Samuel was introduced to Eliab, Jesse's firstborn, he thought that surely this must be the Lord's chosen. But God told him, "No. You look at his physical height and stature and think him a king. But I look at his heart and know him not to be." After Samuel had seen seven of Jesse's sons and had not yet met the one chosen by God, the youngest, David, was brought in from the fields where he had been keeping his father's sheep. God spoke to Samuel again, saying, "This is the one."
Here we see an excellent study in the contrast of perspectives. On the one hand we view how man looks at others, slanted by what he deems important in himself, tinged by the lusts of his flesh. On the other hand we have God's inspection of His creation, colored solely by His grace, His mercy, and His love. We look at others and see their physical attributes because we look with our eyes. God looks at us and sees our heart because He looks with His heart. Sometimes, knowing how we size up each other, God will make someone more or less attractive to us so as to meet His task, to accomplish His will. Sometimes, knowing our weakness for the hungers of the flesh, Satan will present someone more or less attractive to us so as to tempt us, to draw us away. If we rely solely on our eyes and the reactions of our bodies, we may not be able to tell the difference, we may be pulled away from God's plan rather than toward meeting it. We need to practice God's approach more often. We need to look more closely into each other's hearts, including our own, and prayerfully try to determine the true intentions on both sides. We need to view each other through the same glasses Jesus uses: through grace and mercy and love. Before we act based on our human perception of another, we need to try our hand at viewing them using the Lord's divine perception. We need to examine our own heart as to whether our action would be pleasing in God's sight. Jesus stands between us and the Father so that God might see us through His eyes. May we be as gracious when viewing others. Amen.
Heavenly Father, Your ways are not our ways. Your thoughts are not our thoughts. And Your perspective is not our perspective. Lord, please help us to see others more clearly and closely through Your eyes rather than ours. Tinge our perspective with Your love and allow us to see their and our own hearts. Help us be more like Your Son and our Master, Jesus. In the name of Jesus we beseech You. Amen.
Here we see an excellent study in the contrast of perspectives. On the one hand we view how man looks at others, slanted by what he deems important in himself, tinged by the lusts of his flesh. On the other hand we have God's inspection of His creation, colored solely by His grace, His mercy, and His love. We look at others and see their physical attributes because we look with our eyes. God looks at us and sees our heart because He looks with His heart. Sometimes, knowing how we size up each other, God will make someone more or less attractive to us so as to meet His task, to accomplish His will. Sometimes, knowing our weakness for the hungers of the flesh, Satan will present someone more or less attractive to us so as to tempt us, to draw us away. If we rely solely on our eyes and the reactions of our bodies, we may not be able to tell the difference, we may be pulled away from God's plan rather than toward meeting it. We need to practice God's approach more often. We need to look more closely into each other's hearts, including our own, and prayerfully try to determine the true intentions on both sides. We need to view each other through the same glasses Jesus uses: through grace and mercy and love. Before we act based on our human perception of another, we need to try our hand at viewing them using the Lord's divine perception. We need to examine our own heart as to whether our action would be pleasing in God's sight. Jesus stands between us and the Father so that God might see us through His eyes. May we be as gracious when viewing others. Amen.
Heavenly Father, Your ways are not our ways. Your thoughts are not our thoughts. And Your perspective is not our perspective. Lord, please help us to see others more clearly and closely through Your eyes rather than ours. Tinge our perspective with Your love and allow us to see their and our own hearts. Help us be more like Your Son and our Master, Jesus. In the name of Jesus we beseech You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment