stretched...

appearance

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 man looks at. man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

-- 1 samuel 16:7 (niv)

i know many people - including myself - who love the Lord with all their hearts, who don't live as though this passage is a reflection of God's heart. funny how we find comfort for ourselves in this verse, but so consistently fail to extend that much-needed grace to others.

case in point - i have a friend who is a daughter of the King, strong and beautiful and courageous. however, she looks fragile and wounded. this is not what i see in her, nor is it what you should see.

similarly, when people look at me, they usually see varying degrees of strength and independence, coupled with hardness or ferocity that belies who i truly am.

looking through the eyes of Jesus... well, now that's a different perspective altogether. what we see on the outside is not an accurate reflection of one's heart, and therefore should not be what we consider to be most true about that person...

though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of isaiah:
" 'you will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
for this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'

but blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

-- Jesus, as quoted by matthew in chapter 13, verses 13-16 (niv)

200

wow - can you believe i've put you through 200 posts???

thanks for reading... really.