Looking at the Heart

"But 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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'." (1 Samuel 16:7)

This is an often quoted and spoken of verse. At least the part about God looking at the heart rather than the outward appearances is quoted.

We often use this verse when we talk about not basing our assessments of a person's character based on how they look when we first meet them. We use it to remind ourselves of the importance of not judging people based on appearances.

But, when I look at the context of this verse, I wonder if there's more to it than that. Samuel had been sent to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king of Israel. The words in 1 Samuel 16:7 are God's response to Samuel when he sees the oldest son and thinks he is the person to be the next king based on his appearance. God makes it clear that He is using very different criteria to choose the next king than Samuel was using.

I wonder if this verse also speaks to our judging of people based on what we see when they are asked to do something by God. Or maybe if we use it to judge ourselves when God asks us to do something.

When God looks at us, He sees His child and He sees us as people capable of doing what He asks us to when we are depending on Him.

We look at ourselves or others and see all the reasons why we can't or shouldn't do it. We judge ourselves based on our outward appearance. Or we judge others as being able to do it based on their appearances.

But, we would do well to remember that God isn't looking at our outward appearance when He asks us to do something. He is looking at our heart, and if we have a heart that is soft and available for Him, then He sees us as the one to do what He is asking us to do.

The Impact of our Friends

In the last couple of weeks I've been reflecting on the people God brings into our lives. Sometimes He brings people into our lives for a season and sometimes He brings them into our lives for the long term.

Whatever the situation and length of time they are a part of our lives, they play a role in making us into the person we are. We may not notice at the time, but God uses the people in our lives to encourage us, challenge us. Sometimes God uses them in our lives to carry us to Him when we don't feel like we can keep going because we've been hurt.

The truth is, I prefer it when God brings someone into my life for the long term. It's easier to always have the same people around. They know you and you know them. There's less risk in what you share because of the length of time you've been sharing.

When God brings someone into your life just for a season, it can be hard to let go. When you've invested yourself in getting to know them and allowed them to get to know you, it's not always easy to let them go. It may not be that they're gone from your life completely, just that the way they're part of your life changes.

Sometimes we don't realize the difference a friendship with someone for a season made in our lives until something happens that means that person won't ever be able to be a part of our lives again.

That happened for me this past week. A person who came into my life in a time when I needed what they brought to a friendship passed away at what we would consider too young. Changes in the circumstances of our lives meant we weren't as close any more as we had been at one point, but her passing still hit me harder than I expected.

When I look back, I see how God arranged the friendship we had for the time we had it, because He used it in my life in a big way. A way I hadn't realized until this past week.

The more I reflect on this, the more I realize just how God uses people in my life and me in other peoples' lives. I don't often think about that. It's easy to go through life without doing so. But, I've been reminded of the importance of paying attention to who these people are in my life.

Who are the people in your life that God has used to impact your life?

Each Day a Gift from God

I've been reminded the last couple of days that each day God gives us to live is a gift from Him. The things that happen in those days might not always be things that bring us joy - in fact, life can be hard - but each of those days is still a gift.

Some people seem to live that way easier than others. It seems like they have an ability to see the gift in each day. And that way of living in infectious to those around them. It's not that they deny there's hard stuff that happens or that they take joy in pain, they just see each day that they wake up as a gift from God to be used to serve others in His Name. They live with an honesty about them regarding the good and the bad times of life.

Those are the people who we interact with in life who leave a mark on us for the rest of our lives - and a mark for the good. They're the people who encourage us to live life to the full - like Jesus said He came to bring (John 10:10).

And they're the people we don't forget - whether they were in our lives for a few days, weeks, months, or years. Something about them was different and it made us take notice.

I've known a number of people like that over the years. And I'm blessed to have many people like that in my life today.

Today, I'm reminded to pay attention and notice them while they're still in my life. To appreciate those people God has placed in my life who point me and encourage me towards the life God intended for each of us to live. To notice that before they're gone forever from my life - instead of waiting until it's too late to tell them.