God sees the heart

 

Being a “simple, uneducated man” (relative to a lot of my peers), my meditation on this first Saturday of Easter led me to some simple questions:  In my life, who do I discount or shut out?  Can I hear wisdom and answers from God when they’re given by someone of another faith tradition?  Am I open to insight from a member of another culture or race?  What about when the messenger is half my age?  

The Sanhedrin wouldn’t believe Peter and John’s testimony of Jesus as the Resurrected Christ or the miracles they performed because they knew them as “simple, uneducated men” (Acts 4:13-21).  Earlier in the Scriptures, when God sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king, Jesse didn’t initially even present David, because surely God chose one of the seven older brothers rather than a young sheepherder (1Samuel 16:1-13).  Later, Jesus’ apostles and companions refused to believe either Mary Magdalene, who saw Jesus after He rose (Luke 24:1-12), or the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), as those witnesses didn’t sufficiently fit their criteria for reliability. When Jesus finally appeared to the disciples, dispelling their doubt, He rebuked them for their refusal (Mark 16:9-15). 

Knowing what we know on this side of the story, it’s easy for me to rebuke all of these people, too, and convince myself I would have believed if I’d been there.  After all, I’ve been taught that God has a habit of speaking in unexpected ways and through unsuspecting sources.  But would I? How often do I discount a message because I don’t accept the messenger? How often do I shut out other voices because I believe I know more, or they don’t know enough?

These days, entire classes of people are labeled as ignorant, evil, misguided, or simply wrong, rendering us incapable of hearing genuine wisdom from a member of that group.  Young adults in our Church constantly experience their perspective being discounted or unheard in favor of the “seasoned veterans” who, of course, are smarter and wiser.  Women often perceive that, just as in biblical times, their words carry less weight than a man’s.  Surely, too, people living in poverty have little to teach those who’ve achieved success.  We see it everywhere we look.  Are we so blind?

We need to remember the scriptural message: “Not as humans see does God see, because humans see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7)