BY GREG CRUM
“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7
Here at what would become the initial ordination of young David as the next king of Israel we read a telling description of how the Lord evaluates man. He doesn’t utilize the standards we’ve become accustomed to — measurements of physical and mental prowess. Rather He looks deeper, into the core of who we are, into the spirit inside of a man or woman, and uses what He finds to qualify and promote. Those of us who have never measured up to the world’s standards can take great comfort in knowing that it is truly what is inside that counts with the Lord!
Last week we wrote of one of the New Testament’s most underrated heroes—Joses the Levite, a man whose encouragement to others was so legendary that it prompted a name change, changed the course of the life of others, and made an eternal impression on the history of the early Christian church.
According to Scripture, this Joses, or better known to us now as Barnabas, invested material resources into the lives of his brothers and sisters in the Lord, but he didn’t stop there. He also was generous with his encouragement. Evidently Barnabas was so well known for encouraging those around him that he became known in the early church as the “son of encouragement.”
What a testimony!
Now, because of this we know that Barnabas had to have had a fairly rare outlook concerning people. He had to have been able to see a greater measure of good in people than what they currently displayed. In order to always be encouraging others, he had to have been able to see them and their potential through the eyes of faith and of God!
We left off last week walking through the book of Acts and its testimony of Barnabas. At every important turn in the growth of the early church Barnabas was there doing his part by encouraging leaders and, no doubt, laymen alike in their relationships with the Lord. Here was one man, doing a relatively simple task but providing a pivotal service for the Lord and teaching us, believers that would read of him thousands of years later, a tremendous lesson.
What lesson?
That there is power to change the course of the life of others when we choose to see their potential in God instead of their current failings. What’s more, in some cases there is world-changing power in believing in someone despite what they currently seem to be!
Brothers and sisters, have you ever had someone believe in you more than you believed in yourself? If you have, how did that make you feel? Like maybe you were more than what you could see, right? Like maybe you really could improve and be better!
Fun fact about humanity: When we have someone who believes in us, we usually rise to their level of expectation.
You might think, “I can’t relate to that. I’ve never had anyone believe in me.” Well, I can tell you that that’s not quite true. Even if no one else on this planet has believed you could be better than what you are, there is one that does — the Lord. He believed enough in your potential that he died on a cross so that you could have eternal life, and that was well before you were born, let alone before you showed any outward signs of good.
Friends, there is power in seeing the best in others and encouraging them to be all they can be in the Lord. I encourage you to be a son or daughter of encouragement like Barnabas before us.
How? By loving people the way God does and by choosing to see what they can be, not what they are right now!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple Church in Lovely.