Inside-Out - I Samuel 16:7, Galatians 5:9

I have recently lost a pretty fair amount of weight. Some of it was work but most of it was putting good things into my body instead of the things that my body said were good.  I had some clothes from a skinnier time that I have been able to recycle (no leisure suits, but Dockers) so I have not had to get a lot of new clothes.  I did buy some new sweaters for this winter and the really cool thing is that they are Mediums.  I hid or thought I was hiding under XL shirts and stretch waistbands, so a Medium felt really good.  The deal is though that until now, only Darla and I knew they were mediums. It would have been crazy to wear them with the tags out so people could see that the body this shirt was hanging on was a Medium.  Like I said kinda crazy but it still feels good to wear them even if I am the only one who knows what the tag says.

I Sam 16:7,  Galatians 5:9
This is a very familiar verse and story to many of you I am sure. It is a verse snatched from a very dramatic time in the history of Israel, when the God chosen king, Saul, was being rejected and his replacement was being positioned.  There is so much good everyday Christian instruction in this story that it would be a shame for anyone to not read it and become familiar with it.

Saul, the king, has made some terrible errors in judgment and it will cost him his throne and far away in a pasture is a shepherd boy watching his fathers flock and writing songs and singing to the Lord in the cool night air.  Looking up at the expanse of the heavens he is struck by the Majesty of the One True and Living God and he cannot help but sing praise to his Creator (a little embellishment on my part), "When I consider your heavens,,,,,, what is man that you are mindful of him?"

The verse in I Sam 16 is Gods instruction to the prophet to not let his eyes determine his reaction or attitude about the son of Jesse that he is being sent to anoint (man this is a good story, you have to read the whole thing). Samuel sees one of Jesse's sons and God heads him off at the pass and says I have rejected him already.  I think thats interesting because must have looked this young man over and made a determination regarding him that he was not the right man, or unfit for the call. Regardless the reason, he was looked at by God and rejected.

We people are very limited in our ability to assess a person without having some level of knowledge of them. Even then we know only what the other person is willing to reveal to us.  Con-artists are able to keep their true nature hidden until it is too late for the victim. Why is that? People want to believe certain things or are motivated by certain morals (compassion) or anti-morals (greed) and their desires in these areas predispose them to see things not as they are but as they want them to be.

God instructs the prophet that He (God) has done the assessment in a way that only He can do.  Even after David was king his prayer was for God to Search Me, Know Me, Try Me and SEE. David knew where the dark places would be in his life. They were not in his ruddy complexion or his athletic frame, they would be hidden from mans view but naked to the searching and knowing eye of the Lord. Make no mistake David was not only handsome, but he had a heart after Gods own heart, with similar desires, and interests and passions. We could read a bit further and find David committing sin that he compounded by his further sinning.  Did that mean that Davids heart was not rotten or that God held these lusts and murderous thoughts in His heart?  A resounding NO!  David was first and foremost a man, created in sin and shaped in iniquity.  He had the nature of his father Adam and his family tree included the murderer Cain (as does ours).  David was simply a man who had allowed God to place in him a faith in the Creator, a confidence in the Lord of Hosts, a hope for Mercy and Forgiveness from the only Wise and Just God and a love for the sheep.

Let me say just a very few words on a particular point. It would be an error to think that God does not care at all about our outside appearance.  There is too much instruction in both the old and new testaments regarding the need for proper and correct adornment and attire, down the the color of the thread to use. It would be an even longer blog if I chased that rabbit from here, but please dont infer from my writings that God is cool with anything and everything we might do, say or wear. God is Holy and we are called to be holy as He is Holy.  That should be enough to make us want to be right inside and out.

Now let me close this baby out.  Gods examination is a lot like a CT scan or an MRI. The inner most parts of  us are seen one tiny slice at a time.  Gods vision though can see the places that we know are there but are afraid or ashamed to speak of .  He can see the thing that we are holding on too and justifying our unforgiveness with or our vanity, pride and rebellion with.  All the words of our mouth are like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals and that includes our prayers, our worship and our teaching. IF, when the Great Physician brings to our attention a malignancy of heart we give Him permission to remove it and make us whole again, no one may know what a wondrous work He has done for us, but we know. And we know that He knows.  We have a rock solid everyday promise from the Word that says, "If any person be in Christ they are a new person, the old is gone and the new is come!  Davids prayer in Psalm 139 is a good one to begin any healing or cleaning that is needed.  Search Me, Know Me, Try Me and see if there is any pain or sorrow or idols in me  and then lead me in the way everlasting!  God Bless you.

** The underlined text in these blogs contains scripture and study references found at Biblestudytools.com