Responding In Faith

1 Samuel 16:4-7 (New International Version)

4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Recently I had a conversation with someone about our Liberian boys. This person asked me if I had thought about “the reciprocations of bringing these boys to my neighborhood.” I was a bit bewildered at the comment. As the conversation went on I heard comments like “you live in a white neighborhood” and “you live in the south”. I also heard something on the lines of racism towards our family.

I responded in the way I felt that I should. I simply said that we were doing the will of God and that our family was being obedient to what God has asked us to do. I know that God will watch over our family and that I am sure we will hear comments about “white people raising black children”. I went on to say that God would protect us and guide us when these instances came about.

This person went on to say, “You need to toss that aside [meaning God] and face reality.” In my mind I was saying, “But God is reality!” I can’t toss aside what I fully believe in! I simply responded by saying that I have a deep faith in my God and I know that He will be with us no matter where we are at. I then explained that we were doing what God has asked us to do and that we were being obedient to Him. God has blessed us for our obedience and will continue to bless us as we continue daily to make every effort to serve Him.

After that, the conversation was over because there was nothing else to say on that topic. But the conversation did bring me to the above passage from 1Samuel. “Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” How many times a day do we judge people by their outward appearance, whether it be color, clothes, hair styles, etc. We all do it. But a particular pet peeve of mine is when people judge based on color.

God made a world full of so many different colors.  He is not a God who created us to see things just in black and white.  There is a song that I heard as a child about seeing the world in an array of color.  The chorus went something like this: “There are so many colors in a rainbow, so many colors in the morning sun…”  Just as God created all of these colors, He also chose to add color to the human race.  We would be such a dull people if we were all the same color.  God loves color!  He also loves His children, no matter what color they are.

I am excited to have my rainbow family!  If we draw attention  because of all the different colors we have in our family, then so be it.  Maybe it will encourage others to ask about our family which will give me the opportunity to share my Heavenly Father with others!

As you go out into the world today, try not to judge others by their outward appearance.  Look at others as God does, through the heart!