I think we’ve missed the point. In days of yore, parents would bring their newborns home from the hospital – in pink for girls, in blue for boys. They had to look the part. In school, whatever was the latest trend in clothing, in accessories, in hair styles, that was what was needed to look the part. When I was in high school, textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. were carried in ridiculous, unwieldy loose stacks – to look the part. Today, backpacks reign, again, to look the part. There is a dress code for looking the part in some businesses. The military has strict dress codes called uniforms. And on and on. I remember when, at our church, all ladies came to church in hats, a ‘uniform’ my mother detested, but to which she grumblingly submitted – to avoid the gossip – for not looking the part.
When Israel was clamoring for a king, they chose Saul – because he looked the part. He came from a good family, was very tall and oh, so! handsome, therefore, very king-like. Conversely, David was the runt of the litter in Jesse’s house, short, ruddy-complexioned, and therefore, as for future king material – didn’t look the part. As we know, God later rejected Saul for his disobedience and chose David, calling him a man after His own heart (at which we might gasp in pious disapproval at David’s scandalous misdeeds). To God, a person is more than the sum of his/her misdeeds. So, the heart is the part to look for.
Today, it’s easy to obsess on everything exterior, including all our past deeds and misdeeds, all our education or lack of it, whether we are extroverts or introverts, our facility, or difficulty in speaking or praying, etc. I say it’s easy, but these things are what make us who we are. And, after all, those things are not what God looks at. He looks at our hearts. He looks and sees what’s in our hearts. And with His love, our hearts can change and grow and become beautiful before Him, delighting Him as we offer, even in our brokenness and neediness, our worship. And that’s the point! “If you draw near to Me, I will draw near to you.” James 4:8. Let’s be impressed with what impresses God. Enjoy Him as you bring your hearts for worship tomorrow 10 AM, 3 PM UK, 4 PM FR, ES. PD
