Amidst A World Saturated With Visual And Audible Stimuli One Should Find Time In Their Heart To Think Upon Jesus Christ And His Monumental Victory Over Darkness
But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical 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. ( I Samuel 16:7 NKJV ) As the process to replace Saul as Israels king begins the Lord sends Samuel to the house of Jesse, the father of David. And as Jesses sons are presented to the prophet Samuel notices one son who’s appearance he believes warrants attention as a potential candidate only to be reminded by the Lord that what He looks for is only found in an individuals heart. And speaking of the heart of man Proverbs 23:7 says, ” For as he thinks in his heart, so is he ” . The Hebrew word here for ” thinks ” is ” shaar “, or ” to split, to open , and most interesting to me, ” to act as a gatekeeper “. The city gate in ancient times was where the people congregated for business and social reasons. The administration of justice was often administered at the gate. It was the place of controlled access to a walled city. ( Strongs ) And though one can get an idea what an individual is like by their outward behavior the Lords emphasis in I Samuel 16:7 was that people should not believe a person deserved being a leader merely based on appealing or fleshly physical qualities.
In his first epistle the apostle Peter, while addressing wives and then husbands in the third chapter, discouraged women from adorning only their outward person in verse 3, but emphasized the ” hidden person of the heart ” in verse 4 which includes the ” incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God “. Early on in the Book of Romans ( 1:20 ) the word of God tells us that as humans we are consciously aware of Gods existence and based on our standing before Him ( unsaved , saved with a poor understandinng of His word, saved with a solid victorious grasp of His word ) we are thus influenced in our thoughts and behavior by His omnipresence whether we are aware of it or not. Hence, for obvious reasons as an unsaved person it is critical to be reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ; and as quite possibly a struggling christian one would ask the Holy Spirit to give them light through His word that one could avoid a shipwrecked faith because of ones own ignorance or the ignorance of others. Referring back to Proverbs 23:7, or that which we think about, and or that which is the ” gate of our soul ” one needs to realize that while still being in this fallen body, as well as living in a fallen realm our unenlightened inclination at best is to believe we have to earn Gods favor, and at worst seek to hide from Him in a vain attempt to avoid the accountability that comes with being His creation. Consequently, even if we rightfully give heed to His word it nonetheless still comes down to how and what we hear. Ignorance in this area would be to allow ourself to receive and interpret the bible based on a works program mentality whereas one believes ( consciously or not ) they are earning favor with God and quite possibly even doing some seemingly amazing things in life. On the other hand if one believes in the full counsel of Gods word while most importantly never marginalizing the victorious finished work of redemption that it is founded and built upon one then never runs the risk of causing themself or others to attempt a work for God without consistent solid reminders that because of what Christ has already done the eternal heavy lifting is already gloriously finished. And therefore the preciousness of a gentle and quiet spirit as mentioned in I Peter 3 is the result of an individual who is not only experiencing Christs spiritual victory, but who has also come to realize the importance of making such truth the gatekeeper of their soul.
O.N.RIDER is seminary educated and living in Baltimore MD
