Scripture for Today: I Samuel 16:7b “…The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”

For a fruit that is so versatile, nutritious and easy to grow in a tropical climate, the jackfruit has an off-putting appearance! The skin of what is considered to be the largest fruit in the world is thick and spiny, making it difficult to open. A ripe unopened jackfruit is brown and has a strong unpleasant odor. But the pulp of an opened jackfruit is bright yellow or orange and smells sweet! Getting past that outside is rewarded with pleasant color and taste!

Today’s verse draws a sharp contrast between what man sees and what the Lord regards as important. The Lord had commissioned Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel. First, Samuel considered each of Jesse’s sons. But their birth order, their height and their appearance were non factors. It was the youngest son that had the lowly job of tending sheep who had the heart God could use.

I tend to assign value to a person based on outward appearance. I hate it when people do so with me and yet I find I do it all the time! When all is well-groomed on the outside, I assume the inside is in order as well. But wickedness can have a very appealing veneer of respectability. The flip side is true as well and I can completely miss a beautiful friendship by an off-putting image. Christ Himself had no beauty or majesty to attract us; nothing in His appearance would cause us to desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). And yet, no one who ever walked this earth was more beautiful.

Lord, make me beautiful on the inside.