I was talking to a friend yesterday and she commented on how a neighbor had brought her and her husband dinner. She had taken a fall and was very sore prompting her neighbor's actions.
My friend said she placed the dinner at the dinner table for her husband who in turn rejected it. I was merely listened as she said "People think he's sweet but they look at the eyes, not the heart."
Whether that statement is true of her husband or not, it was thought provoking for me. In the Bible, when the time came for God to replace King Saul, many may have had a visual idea of what the new king should look like. They might have expected a well built warrior, an experienced man who had perhaps travelled the world, or one who had the world by it's hands. Some might have even expected a man who had walked with God for years and years. At any rate, I don't believe anyone expected a young shepherd boy.
When Samuel saw Jesse's sons, their features, their height, their size, he thought "surely the Lord's annointed stands before the Lord." The Lord said to Samuel "Do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." [1 Samuel 16]
When they had exhausted the list, one remained...the youngest. Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest...but he is tending sheep." Samuel said "Send for him, we will not sit down until he arrives." So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said "Rise and annoint him, he is the one." God was not looking at size, age, or features. He was looking at the heart.
If my friend's statement is true, they someone is putting on a show. The thought that I could fool someone with an outer appearance is real. However, the thought that God would expose what is in my heart is frightening. It is imperative that I stay in the Word of God so that what is in my heart will be revealed through my eyes, my thoughts, my speech, and my actions.
It is important that I keep the Lord's commands in my heart so that the overflow of my heart will represent Christ. That comes with having a closer walk with him and not allowing other things to compete for my heart.
I pray that others will look past my eyes and see a heart for Christ.
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are the life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:20-23
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