I Samuel 16:7b (NIV)

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at

the heart.

"I once was lost, but now I’m found;

Was blind, but now I see."

"Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart"

I realize that my only hope for relating honestly and lovingly with people--including myself--is to see us through God’s eyes.

Many years ago the mother of a child in my Sunday School class committed suicide. I didn’t really know her but she and her husband picked up their child at the classroom door each week and I remembered her as friendly and smiling. Shock and grief gripped our large congregation.

I’ve thought about the fact we were shocked. It is easy to feel guilty that all of us apparently missed the enormity of this woman’s pain. But aren’t most of us very proficient at hiding our pain? I know I can be. I can even hide my pain from myself. As I looked through the Bible’s admonitions regarding appearance, I found that most seem to address our tendency to let a fair appearance mislead us. I believe it is because we know how easily we are swayed by appearances that we strive to appear lovely to others, even when our hearts are a mess.

When God opened our eyes to the reality of salvation, He also opened our eyes to the reality of the human condition. When I choose to see with His eyes I can look past another’s appearance --even past his actions--and see into his heart. Some people say this is being a bleeding heart. Maybe it is. Jesus’ heart bled. Not because He was making excuses for people; rather, because He saw how hopeless their condition was without His intervention. I think that’s what He wants us to see, too.