hursday, February 5, 2015
We were on our way to church a few days ago when I spotted a man walking up the street who was either a security guard or private police officer. He was tall, muscular but lean, and very neatly dressed. I confess that my initial thought when I saw him was “Now, that, is what a police officer should look like!” I immediately recognized the flaws in my perception of him and remembered the age old truth we all know, that “looks can be deceiving” and “you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover.” I remembered the many times I’ve made the opposite assessment in my mind, especially when it concerns police or all other members of law enforcement, telling myself that they are either too old or else too out of shape to do anybody any good. It may very well be that the security officer I saw on that day is a good representative of all those who are in his craft; I certainly hope so. On the other hand, it is possible he just may be one more disappointment.
My mistake was one even those that should know better commit on a regular basis. The Bible shows how the great prophet and priest, Samuel, did just that on two occasions. The first was when he saw Saul for the first time whom the Lord instructed him to anoint him as the king His people had been clamoring for. Regarding Saul, the Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 9:2 that he was “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.” Perhaps his first thought when he saw Israel’s first king was, “Wow, the Lord sure knows how to pick em!” Unfortunately, and as we all know, Saul turned out to be a flop. The second time Samuel was deceived was when the Lord sent him to anoint the succeeding king who would come from the house of Jesse, a Bethlehemite who had eight sons. When the oldest son was brought to him , Samuel saw a tall, good looking man and thought “this must be the one” but immediately the Lord told him “do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) In the end, the one who was chosen was the youngest, and least likely in the eyes of many, David.
What does that have to do with you and me? Well, it just may be that others may “see” that we are not young, good looking, capable, or intelligent enough to do the things the Lord has called us to do. I’ll never forget the day when a fellow worker of mine pointed out an approaching man as a well known lawyer. I remarked “he certainly doesn’t look like a lawyer” and he immediately replied, “relax, you don’t look like a pastor either.” You would have thought I learned my lesson, right? Anyway, lets keep on living for Jesus and do what the Lord has called us for, even if we don’t look like one of His servants. May we never forget that God looks at the heart.
Memory verse for the week: (2 Timothy 2:24) “And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”
