What are you looking at?

     For Sunday's texts we are focusing on the portion of The Story in chapter 11 where Samuel anoints David as king - even though Israel already has a king in Saul.  It is an interesting story because once again it points to God's working through the least suspected, least qualified, and most surprising of candidates.  As the story unfolds, it appears that Samuel has been sulking over God's decision to appoint a different king.  Perhaps he is taking it especially hard since he warned the people what would happen if they got a king, and he is running around with an 'I told you so' mind frame, or maybe he just secretly wanted it to succeed since the people wanted it so much.  Whatever it was, God had to tell him to stop grieving and get back to work.
     So Samuel goes to Bethlehem where he meets Jesse, the man God told him to find.  Jesse has several sons, and upon seeing the first son, Eliab, Samuel was certain this was the one God had chosen, presumably because of his appearance, based on God's response:  "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not look at things people look at; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

   This assurance from God is especially comforting for me personally, because based on human standards I fall well short.  Really.  I know I can put on a good show for the public, but there are many things which are sub-par and which can sometimes cause me anxiety.  And the silly thing is (in my head I know it's silly) that it bleeds into all aspects of my life: my parenting, my pastoring, my blogging, and yes, my appearance, as trivial as that sounds.
     So God's words give me great hope in all of this.  When I lose my patience with my two-year-old who is sobbing into the floor because she is tired and refuses to take a nap; when I forget to use tact or loving care with those I meet; when I type something stupid for all of the world to read; when I have a bad hair day; God doesn't care.
     Ok, so God cares.  But God doesn't care, if you get my drift?  God loves me for who I am, and while God rejoices with my triumphs and the Spirit sings when I do something right, those things aren't really what matter to God.
     God cares about the heart, and in the heart we find the truth of who we are.  And, more importantly, even when my heart is in the wrong place (which sometimes it is) I can still find forgiveness.
     So after hearing these words, I am left questioning the mystery of my life and how I look at people.  Do I look at the outward appearance and forget what lies beneath?  Or, knowing that God looks at my heart, do I afford others the same grace?