While grocery shopping with her
father, Janet picked up the last can of peaches on the shelf. She noticed the
can was slightly dented, so she put it back. "Why'd you put it back?"
her father asked.
"Because the can has a dent in
it." "The container doesn’t look good, but the peaches inside are
fine," he said. "Don’t judge what’s on the inside by how the outside
appears."
God sent Samuel to select the next
king from the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite (1 Sam. 16:1-13). When Samuel saw
Eliab he thought, “Surely this is the man God has chosen.” Then God spoke to
Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance
or at the height of this stature…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks
at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (16:7).
Jesse made all seven sons pass before
Samuel and each time God said, “This isn’t the one.” I’m sure Samuel scratched
his head and thought, “Something’s wrong. There must be another son who isn’t
here.” Jesse told him the youngest one, David, was tending sheep. At the time,
David was a young person and probably didn’t look like a king, but he was the
one God chose to rule Israel.
The lesson is clear—don’t judge others
based on outward appearance. On the outside, the person might look like a dented
can, but Jesus sees someone worth dying for. In God's eyes, the homeless
person lying in the gutter is just as valuable as the most admired movie star.
Paul said, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the
flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now
we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16). The real person lives on the
inside. But you must look past the skin to see it. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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