The Lord Looks 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

When the Lord sent Samuel to anoint the next king over Israel, Samuel saw the stature of Eliab and thought for sure this one must be the one. But, the Lord let him know that He had not chosen the next king of Israel by his outward appearance. In the end, it was Jesse's youngest son, just a shepherd in the field, who was called to be anointed to be the next king.

In the spring when the dandelions begin to bloom, my husband is in a hurry to get rid of them. I see the yellow blossoms as doing no harm. They are a sign of spring and I enjoy their presence in my yard. We each have a different perspective on what we see or hear. We see things differently. My husband sees weeds. I see flowers; a gift from God that are, in fact, consumable.

God see things a whole lot differently than we do. So what does God see when He looks into our hearts? Our neighbors may see our hearts as dark as the night. But, what does God see? Does he see a child in pain who has not yet learned how to deal with life around him? Does he see a heart that is aching for only the peace that He can give? 

No one; but, God, can know what is truly in the heart of another person. Whether good or evil; whether a weed or a flower, only God can know for sure.

Who knows? The next weed that you try to destroy just might be a treasured flower; a beloved and chosen child of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 58 - Fasting Is About Giving and Living

I don't know too many Lutherans who actually fast, today, except for many during Lent. We give up chocolate or soda pop or some other consumable. Some give up other bad habits, at least for the season. But, what is fasting?

Isaiah suggests fasting is not so much what we don't do (eat), but about what we do and ultimately how or why we do it. Fasting is not so much about what does or doesn't go into our bodies, but what comes out of them. Fasting is not so much about starving ourselves, as it is about giving of ourselves. It is about giving our lives in service to God and to others - dedicating our lives to helping other - to feeding others - rather than feeding our own egos.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,    and your night will become like the noonday." (Isa 58:6-10 NIV)

Fasting is about using our time and our resources to help our neighbor, rather than our own selfish desires, so that God might be glorified. It really would not hurt many of us to do with a little less so that others might have enough. It really would not hurt to give more of our time to help a neighbor in need... to visit the sick, those in prison, those who are alone and lonely, those in need. It would not hurt and we might even find joy in these relationships.

Fasting is not so much about what you don't do, but about what you do. It's not about living in the dark as you walk about "bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes" (vs 5), acting as though you are humble, starving yourself. Fasting is about living - living in the light of the LORD, rather than the darkness of world. It is about living, even in the darkness, as you "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  (Matt 5:16)

God's Peace - Pr. J