Monday Morning Manna: Looking as the Lord Looks

The sign in my Optometrist’s office said, “The reason your eyesight declines as you age is so you won’t go into shock when you pass the mirror.” I laughed as I remembered the comment of a friend whom I was about to see for the first time in many years, “You may not recognize me, since I’ve gained a lot of weight.” I shared with my Optometrist about the time when I was staying in a high-end hotel and walked into the bathroom with all the bright, dressing-room lights, only to be shocked at the grey hairs that had slipped into my head over night. Why do we place so much emphasis on the outward appearance? We say of a person they are beautiful “inside and out” as if to say, the outside may be a bit disappointing. Like when we used to ask for a description of an upcoming blind date and were told that they, “have a great personality.” Always sounded like a cover-up to me. Concerning Eliab, the “Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature . . . for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (I Samuel 16:7). This would be a good week to practice looking like the Lord looks.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.