Give me Your Eyes

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I Samuel 16:6-7 ~ 

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD." 

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 

God sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem’s home. His task was to find a new king for Israel. Jesse had many sons and they all took turns parading in front of Samuel. When he saw the eldest, Eliab, he was impressed. This guy was a strapping man and Samuel thought for sure he would make a great king. 

However, it ended up being the youngest boy, David who was chosen. He hadn’t even been invited to the sacrifice. Instead he was out in the field watching the sheep. 

The Lord responds to Samuel by telling him to stop looking at the outward appearance. God does not look at people the way we do. As humans we love to categorize people. We look at someone or listen to their viewpoint on something and size them up very quickly. Then we slap a label on them. The label may have to do with their political view or the particular sin they struggle with or the fact that their personality just doesn’t mesh with ours. 

If we could only at people the way God does we would be so much better off. He doesn’t see the label “liberal” or “conservative”, “adulterer” or “thief”, “Catholic” or “Protestant”, and “black” or “white.” What He does see is our hearts. He looks deep inside and sees our motives and what is really going on inside of us. 

There is a song called Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath that I love. The song reminds me of this truth. The chorus says, 

Give me your eyes for just one second 
Give me your eyes so I can see 
Everything that I keep missing 
Give me your love for humanity 

Give me your arms for the brokenhearted 
The ones that are far beyond my reach 
Give me your heart for the one’s forgotten 
Give me your eyes so I can see. 

Today as you go through your day, ask the Lord to help you see past the labels and see the heart of the people you interact with. Ask Him to help you see through His eyes. You may be surprised at what you find.

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