Laundry Room Realizations
He had been staying with us for more than two months already, but this was the first time he’d asked for help with his laundry. Could I switch the load so it would be dry by the time he got back from work? Absolutely.
As I moved his bedding and clothing from the washer to the dryer later that afternoon, I gasped. On their own, the items looked so small, so vulnerable… so different from the big and tough persona of the young man they usually dressed. I was struck, anew, by how easy it is to form opinions of people just by what they look like.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
—1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
In Scripture, we see Samuel making the same mistake. Based on appearance, he thought Jesse’s oldest son would be anointed as Israel's next king. When God said no, Samuel presented others who were also rejected. God ultimately selected David, the youngest and smallest, whom Samuel had completely ignored!
With the challenges our guest had faced in his 18 years, it was no wonder he might try to project himself as stronger than he likely feels. His rough exterior could be why some people might pass over or even avoid a kid like him. But getting to know the tender-hearted young man behind the tough persona helped me confront my own tendencies in that regard, to appreciate the true value of doing it God’s way.
Lord, help me to follow your example in looking on the heart, so I might see and love those around me not based on their outward appearance, but through your eyes.
How about you? How have you been challenged follow God’s leading and look to the heart, more so than one’s outward appearance?