Day 125

The Lord Looks on the Heart

 “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7.

Several owners in our community have given their places of business a new face lift. Some totally tore down the building and started from scratch and some redid their place on the inside and outside. Some only updated on the outside to promote the curb appeal which often draws people inside but then can be a turn off when they enter the doors.

Then some buildings that had been there for many years were demolished to make way for the new more modern facilities. One bank has been torn down to make way for one of my favorite doughnut place of business. But then there are abandoned buildings, one which had a fire years ago and stands in the middle of our community like an eyesore.

Some times more time is spent working on the exterior that the inside because it seems that is what attracts people. We often spend more time on our bodies than we do on the inner man and the closer someone comes the better they can sense what is going on as they observe our words and actions. We judge by the outside appearance rather than what's on the inside, until we enter the inside of a building or a relationship with a person. Sometimes the appearance is decieving. Once we get to know the person we may find out their heart is not kind or loving even though their appearance first attracted us.

Then the opposite is often true as we realize that the person on the inside is so much more that what the exterior may show. They are beautiful on the inside and we somehow don't see the external in the same light anymore. We find we like going there where we can feel comfortable and loved unconditionally.

I remember as a child going to my friend's home where everything was not in place like mine, yet I felt so at home and accepted when I went there. It was an attractive place to me where I felt unconditionally loved and accepted. That's how God wants us to feel in His house, accepted just as we are. We don't need to put on any airs , dress a certain way or look a certain way. He wants us to come in then He begins to clean us up from the inside out.

Sometimes we feel as if we need to look different on the outside or maybe even be totally revamped or rebuilt before we can enter His house but that is not what He says. He says He doesn't look on the outward appearance but on the heart. Praise Him today for continuing the daily process of beautification as He makes us more like His Son. Oh Lord we want to remade on the inside.