A MARK OF BEAUTY
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1 Samuel 16:1-13 (NRSV)
The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have
rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set
out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for
myself a king among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of
it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say,
'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I
will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I
name to you." Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The
elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come
peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD;
sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified
Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed
is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his
appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for
the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him
pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then
Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this
one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to
Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are
all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is
keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we
will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he
was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, "Rise
and anoint him;!
for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him
in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily
upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
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The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 (NRSV)
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I was resting outside in a recliner, surrounded by wildflowers and bushes.
While I enjoyed the warm sun and cloudless sky of the Johannesburg winter
day, I was surprised to spot a brown moth in the nearby garden. Moths
usually come out only at night.
Why did God make this creature so drab? I wondered, when the butterfly, with
a similar body, is often so gloriously colorful? Just then a shaft of
sunlight crossed the moth's path, and it spread its wings. Under each wing
I saw a streak of shimmering gold, glinting in the sun's rays. As with many
times before, I had judged by first appearance, instead of allowing the moth
time to show its true splendor.
Moths need to look like a piece of wood or a dry leaf to hide from
predators. Yet it was almost as if God couldn't resist giving them beauty
mostly hidden from view. Like the moth, some people may seem to have few
attractive qualities. They may be difficult to relate to and love. Yet
they are made in God's own image. Just as God put special beauty in that
little moth, we can be sure God put something beautiful in every person.
Prayer: Lord, help us to encourage others and to look for their true, inner
beauty. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Look for the beauty God places within each person.
-- Shirley M. Corder (Western Cape, South Africa)
PRAYER FOCUS: Someone I find hard to love
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RELATED READING ...
Discover what spiritual formation and authentic spirituality are all about
in THE WAY OF TRANSFORMING DISCIPLESHIP, the sixth title in the Companions
in Christ series. Reflect on what your faith means in terms of who you are,
how you must change, how you deal with pain, and how you relate to others.
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