Week 29
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
No greater evidence exists of the twistedness of sin as in the way that people think. It is interesting to note that the Bible repeatedly connects the inner life with the thoughts of a person. How we think, what we think about, and how we view everything in life reflects our inner sinful life. Thus, Romans 1:21 speaks of reprobates as being “futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The Bible adds to this in Ephesians 4:17-18 that the unsaved possess “the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding.”
Likewise, one of the great components of the newness of life in regeneration is the fact that the mind and the affections are transformed by God’s Holy Spirit. We think differently when we are saved.
God spoke to Samuel to help recalibrate his understanding of how to see people as God does. Because we do not see life like God does, we also do not see people like God does. God says this quite clearly. God says that the external appearance of a person is not the primary component of a person. What matters is what is in the heart.
This is actually “bad news” for those who only want external religion! If we want to join the church, attend services, and perform perfunctory religious duties in an attempt to “chart” our spiritual earnings, then we will be most unhappy about this fact. However, when the Holy Spirit brings conviction and saving faith to the soul, the person not only receives forgiveness of sins but the person has been changed (regenerated) by God’s sovereign saving grace through the work of the Holy Spirit for the transformation of life. One of the by-products of this is that we are renewed mentally and intellectually so that we begin to see life, salvation, and others from God’s perspective.
Two aspects of this include: 1) Seeing what truly matters in a person – the inner life; and 2) Valuing what truly matters in lieu of trivial and superficial issues and aspects of life and people.
But this also includes seeing ourselves from God’s perspective. He sees who He made us to be, He sees what He is doing redemptively in our lives, and He sees the plan that He has put into place for our growth and ultimate joy. When we see ourselves from God’s perspective, then we can see others from God’s perspective. This lens through which we look will include kindness, love, unselfishness, and caring. What a wonderful change would occur in the world if we were to see God, see ourselves, and see others from God’s point of view.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please grant that I will see and understand life, myself, and others from Your perspective. Please help me to not measure these things from a human viewpoint but from Your viewpoint. Thank You for seeing me as You truly have made me to be. Amen.