Malleable hearts

Anoint him, for this is the one. (1 Samuel 16:12)

Even from the earliest days, there was a strict hierarchy in every Jewish family. The father was the head of the household, and his eldest son was the heir apparent. All the other sons had lesser places in the home and stood to inherit less than their older brother. 

But Scripture tells us about some people who operated outside of this hierarchy and became powerful servants of God in their own right. For example, Deborah was a woman living in a man’s world (Judges 4–5). Jacob outshone his older brother, Esau (Genesis 27). And Gideon, the “most insignificant” in his father’s house, rose up to become a great warrior and liberator of his people (Judges 6–7). David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, fits right in that pattern.

By traditional standards, these limitations should have kept these people from rising up to positions of leadership in Israel. But God uses a different method of selection. He places an emphasis on how a person thinks and acts, not on that person’s place in the family or society. As he told Samuel, he looks at the heart, not the appearance.

Even today, God is looking for people with pure hearts, people who will be faithful and obedient. He is looking for people who are willing to be formed by him. King Saul, David’s predecessor, had turned away from God, but in David, God found a man with a soft heart and a willing spirit.

God isn’t looking for the smartest, the wealthiest, the most beautiful, or the flashiest person. He is looking for people who are committed to him and who strive to model their lives after his teachings.

We are God’s anointed ones. He has blessed us and filled us with his grace. May we rise up today and tell the Lord that we want to serve him and honor him with our lives.

“Lord, give me the desire to follow you and the strength to help build your Church.”

~taken from wau.org