ODB: An Inside View

October 20, 2015

READ: 1 Samuel 16:1-7 

The Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Retired physicist Arie van’t Riet creates works of art in an unusual way. He arranges plants and deceased animals in various compositions and then x-rays them. He scans the developed x-rays into a computer and then adds color to certain parts of his pictures. His artwork reveals the inner complexity of flowers, fish, birds, reptiles, and monkeys.

An inside view of something is often more fascinating and more significant than an exterior view. At first glance, Samuel thought Eliab looked like he could be Israel’s next king (1 Sam. 16:6). But God warned Samuel not to look at Eliab’s physical traits. He told Samuel, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (v. 7). God chose David, instead of Eliab, to be Israel’s next king.

When God looks at us, He is more interested in our hearts than our height, the state of our soul than the structure of our face. He doesn’t see us as too old, too young, too small, or too big. He zeroes in on the things that matter—our response to His love for us and our concern for other people (Matt. 22:37-39). Second Chronicles 6:30 says that God alone knows the human heart. When the God who has done so much for us looks at our heart, what does He see?

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Photo credit: TEDxGroningen / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Dear God, help me to value what You value. As I follow Your example, I pray that You will be pleased with what You see in my heart.

The true measure of a person is what’s in the heart.

Source: Our Daily Bread