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 sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, ESV)
One thing that has never been very far from my thinking when I read the Bible is the importance of the heart, or the inner life, or the thought process of a Christian. And, by comparison, how unimportant the outward life, the activity is. Quickly, this is not to say that action is unimportant, but simply that action flows from the heart, so the heart, as the source of actions, would take priority.
And, I would think, this text is one of the central ones in informing us on the importance of the heart. Many of Jesse's sons were impressive outwardly. Many of Jesse's sons appeared kingly.
But God had sent Samuel to anoint another of Jesse's sons, the youngest, the shepherd, the ruddy one, with a "heart after God's own heart."
It seems desirable to have a heart such as this and yet it is a thing that I cannot cook up myself. Changing hearts is God's business. I am grateful my heart is not what it was and that is God's doing.
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