God Looks at the Heart

Being a prophet doesn't make someone perfect.  God corrected the prophet Samuel's assumptions concerning Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse who had a "royal bearing."  He looked at Eliab and thought, "This must be the LORD's anointed!"  1 Samuel 16:7 says, "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  Physical height was no qualification to be king when the heart of a man disqualifies him.  It is good for us to realise that we, like Samuel, can be led astray by first impressions and what can be seen.

What is true for individuals rings true for the Body of Christ, the church.  As long as I have been a part of the church there have always been people who come and go.  It is interesting to hear their perspective and how it impacts their decision to return or look elsewhere.  Some see a young pastor as one lacking necessary wisdom, and an older one as out of touch.  A large congregation is overwhelming to some, while a small congregation can be met with curious suspicion:  if it was a good church, why is it still small?  I am convinced any church you decide to regularly attend will have it faults and flaws because it if filled with people, and we all make our contributions.  But praise the LORD His grace, love and mercy is sufficient for us, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. :)

Trees provide a fitting illustration of how we cannot base our judgments primarily on what we see with our eyes.  Growing up we had a massive evergreen pine tree in the back yard which became infested with borers.  We were shocked to see grubs carving out paths under the bark which killed the tree in a season:  height provided no protection.  Fruitfulness is not always a sign of health either, for we had a peach tree heavily loaded with fruit which fell during the night.  The weight of the ripening peaches revealed the trunk had been eaten by termites.  Years ago I had a lemon tree that produced many green leaves but no lemons because the wild root stock had been allowed to flourish from under the graft.  Height, fruit and green leaves does not mean a tree is healthy, and I was surprised on all three occasions I based my judgment on sight alone.

Jeremiah 17:7-10 states, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. ⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. ⁹ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."  Only God can know the hearts of men, so let us not be presumptuous to think we can know the hearts of others.  Based upon God's promise the spiritual health of God's people is not dependent upon the age of their pastor or the size of a congregation, but is assured for those who trust in the LORD.  Those who look to Jesus Christ are made spiritually healthy because they are connected to the vitality of Jesus Christ.  Such will remain fruitful in heat and drought because of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit who empowers us.  Times of pruning comes for the fruitful which temporarily ceases production, but in time will flourish again.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD and hopes in Him!  This is the one whose heart is pure before the Father by grace through faith in Jesus.  Our eyes and heart can deceive us, but the LORD will give us the insight, strength and vitality to be fruitful wherever He plants us.  We use our eyes to observe others, and the LORD searches our hearts and tests our minds:  will the good fruit of the Spirit be found in us?  Great reward is ours, not primarily due to the church we attend, but when we are personally fruitful for His glory by His grace.

Going for a Walk

It is wise for us to work towards obtainable goals.  A goal can be a motivation as well as a guide to focus our efforts and remember why our labours will be worth it in the end.  Whether your goal is to fit into last year's pants again or to make the perfect pavlova, there can be great satisfaction in accomplishing what we set out to do.  It is also wise to consider our motivations in setting goals:  one could want to slim down for health reasons and another out of vanity and pride.

This need to examine our motives can ring true with goals like planting a church or increasing church membership.  People can be enthusiastic to obtain their ends like a dog that chokes himself on the lead his master uses to restrain him.  I have walked dogs that pulled so violently on the lead during a walk it almost resulted in their own strangulation!  Outside the confines of the yard some dogs are so excited to walk and explore they frankly lose their minds.  Why?  Because they have never been been trained to heed verbal commands.  Such dogs cannot be trusted to have the lead removed because they would never "come when called" or pay their master any heed but to run when their begging owner drew near.

It is interesting a dog can be so forceful to pull in a direction and not even know where he is heading.  Perhaps without the fence in the way the instinctive goal is escape!  When my brother took our dog through obedience training, it made walks much more enjoyable for dog and owner because our dog realised who was in charge.  How we need this reminder as sheep of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, as fellow labourers under His yoke!  The shepherd has plans the sheep cannot comprehend and daily provides for all the needs of the sheep under his care.  A sheep that trusts the guidance of the shepherd does not need to set goals for itself, and in following the Master we are led into new pastures and to still waters, to explore vast horizons we never imagined existed.

Going for a walk is basically taking a series of steps, one after another.  Walking the dog is good for exercise and training yet in itself never really accomplishes anything because the starting and finishing point is the same.  The walk of faith in Jesus is very different because we are fundamentally changed and transformed from within as we walk by Christ's side.  He takes us to places we never imagined and helps us navigate all manner of obstacles and difficulties through His wisdom.  He has goals for us we perhaps shrink from and has plans that are greater than our grandest dreams.  Every day is an adventure in His grace as we learn obedience by what He allows us to suffer.  Jesus' sheep hear His voice, He knows them, and we follow Him.

If pursuit and obedience to Jesus Christ by faith is our goal, we do well to labour to accomplish this.  All other goals we set for ourselves may be nothing more than resemble a dog straining at the lead to sniff a plant on the other side of a street busy with traffic.

The Valiant Man

"Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days."

1 Samuel 31:10-13

After the death of King Saul and his sons, the Philistines hung their desecrated bodies on the walls of Beth Shan as trophies of their victory.  When the men of Jabesh Gilead heard of the death of their king, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night to retrieve the bodies and give them a proper burial.  Early in the reign of Saul the people of Jabesh Gilead were delivered from Nahash the Ammonite when Saul mustered all Israel to battle at the report of their trouble.  He had saved them from the reproach of having to gouge out their right eyes, and they saved him from reproach and derision after his demise.

I am impressed with the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead who traveled a great distance to honour the memory of their deceased king.  They did so at the risk of their own lives with no motive to receive titles, lands, vineyards, flocks, servants or monetary reward.  These men demonstrated bravery and courage they had personally benefited from when they were in trouble and there was no one to help and gave as they had received.  If these men saw fit to take such a risk and make this sacrifice for their king who had perished, it follows we should be at least this valiant to honour and rejoice in our risen King Jesus Christ.

When we were without help or hope in the world, Jesus came to the earth to save sinners.  We were dead in trespasses and sins when God had compassion on us and sent His only begotten Son Jesus to redeem us.  Jesus did not come to risk His life but with full knowledge He would lay down His life and die on Calvary for sinners who did not know or love Him.  Having received salvation, forgiveness and atonement by His blood, our hearts should be full of gratitude and thankfulness.  Knowing God has saved us from certain death by His sacrifice, we should be glad to lay down our lives for Him.  We are His prized trophies of grace.

The awesome truth is we serve a risen King who reigns in eternal glory who is also our great High Priest who sits at the right hand of the Father and ministers for our sakes.  We are able to have communion with the Most High by grace through faith and our aim is not to help Him "save face" but to worship Him in spirit and truth, to glorify His name, to honour and extol the KING OF KINGS by our conduct and speech.  The bones of Jesus are not secreted under a tree or in a tomb but Jesus lives, and the miraculous reality is He lives through us.  The valiant men of Jabesh Gilead are an example for us we see believers follow in the New Testament and to this day.  Because Jesus has overcome death we can walk in the exhortation of 1 Corinthians 15:58:  "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

What the men of Jabesh Gilead did was not a waste or an unnecessary risk:  in their act for their deceased king we see a shadow of courageous and valiant deeds we ought to do for our risen King.  Isn't Jesus more valiant still, choosing to lay down His life for all who are dead in sin?  May we consider how we ought to live in light of His brave example.

Everyone Listen!

There is no reasonable justification to compare God to a cruel, ruthless murderer.  The good reputation of men and women are often smeared by their enemies, and it seems the almighty God is no exception.  Those who believe God created the heavens and the earth in His wisdom celebrate the brilliance of God for fine-tuning the earth and celestial bodies to sustain life on this planet.  No one complains about the natural law of gravity that is perfectly suited for our survival, but plenty of people oppose the spiritual law that sin ultimately brings death.  God is gracious to reveal this reality before the penalty is imposed, and when it comes to fruition He has been much maligned.

God has done everything to take the sting out of death for people created in His own image by experiencing death Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  The God who is the same yesterday, today and forever desires none would perish and that all would come to repentance.  This desire to preserve life is seen in the Old Testament as well.  Jeremiah 26:1-3 reads, "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying, ² "Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. ³ Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.'"  Because of their sin God's people in Jerusalem courted destruction which only faith in God demonstrated by repentance could turn away.

God knew the wayward and stubborn hearts of His people, yet He sent Jeremiah to them with severe warnings about what would occur should they continue in their current course of wickedness.  Jeremiah was one of many prophets God sent to notify His people of their guilt so they might heed and turn from their sins.  Even though God knew they would not listen, He sent Jeremiah anyway.  In no way did He infringe upon their right of choice to heed or deny Him, and He would make their decision to stand.  Their refusal to hear and obey the word of the LORD would condemn them when His intent was to relent concerning the calamity He would bring upon them as a just Judge.

In a court of law it is possible to have a judge who goes beyond legal precedent to punish citizens, who receives bribes, gives preferential treatment or turns a blind eye to corruption.  This cannot be said of God who is righteous, just, merciful, loving and gracious.  He has sent Jesus Christ to shine in the darkness so we might repent of sin and turn to Him in faith so we can be spared from destruction, forgiven and receive eternal life.  God has not withheld this opportunity from the worst of the worst because He says, "Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way."  For all who believe in Christ and repent, God will relent from bringing eternal disaster upon us and will draw us to Himself forever as His own.  God says in Isaiah 45:22, "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."  When we turn our eyes to Jesus lifted up on the cross as a sacrifice for sin, we see God drawing all people unto Himself for salvation.