Appearances


"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearances 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.'"   I Samuel 16:7


As we turned down the road congested with warehouses and other industrial buildings, we began to wonder if the directions we had been given were accurate or if we had simply made a wrong turn.  In any event, nothing appeared to us like the quaint little local restaurant that had been described to us.  We called again to verify we were on the right road and were told to look carefully for a small obscure sign with the restaurant's name on it and an arrow directing us to its location.  We finally found the sign and followed the road between the buildings to a warmly lit and truly unique establishment.  It turned out to be our favorite restaurant of the whole trip.  With its uneven floors, tacky lights hanging from the ceiling, and little dining areas made to look like huts, you couldn't help but smile.  Other diners were at the microphone singing their hearts out with a live band there to accompany them.  Adding to the unique atmosphere were the fans with their extension cords on the floor blowing in the fresh outside air.  To top it off, the service and the food were really good.  The road to nowhere was actually the road to somewhere quite special.  Sometimes things aren't always as they appear. 


In our verse for the day, Samuel was betrayed by Eliab's appearance.  He looked the part of a future king, but he wasn't God's man.  His youngest brother David was.  Our world is an appearance driven world encouraging people to invest time and energy into appearing great instead of investing time and energy into truly becoming great.  Into which of these two possibilities are you and I focusing our time and energy these days?  God is always concerned with the condition of our hearts, not the size of our biceps, the labels on our clothes, our list of accomplishments, or the titles that we hold.  He isn't interested in our ability to present the image of a strong marriage and quality relationships with our kids.  He wants us to really have them. 


Jesus didn't die on the cross to appear to give us life and life to the fullest.  He died so that we could truly have it.  So, what's it going to be?  Real or Artificial?  Actual or Image?  Authentic or Fake?  Truth or Lies?  Substance or Superficiality?  The reality is that if there is substance to our souls, appearances will take care of themselves.


In Christ,


Tom

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