Samuel went to the house of Jesse to find the next king of Israel. When he saw the oldest son, he noticed right away the set of his face and his height. The prophet thought for sure that this was the one God had chosen. He looked like a king. But God corrected 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 Sam. 16:7). How true these words are! How common this mistake is!
Paul asked the Christians at Corinth, “Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?” (II Cor. 10:7). Three verses later he answers the question. His critics in the church there were not impressed with how Paul looked. “For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (II Cor. 10:10). Paul was inspired. He introduced them to the gospel. They were saved because of his preaching, but they had forgotten about that and were more concerned about what he looked like and how he spoke. With that kind of carnal attitude, it is no wonder they were having problems!
Other Christians saw Paul in a different way. When they thought of Paul, their mind did not go to his appearance. His thorn in the flesh did not shape their image of him. They loved and appreciated him for who he was, not what he looked like. Timothy was like a son to him, and Aquila and Priscilla risked their lives for Paul (I Tim. 1:2; Rom. 16:3-4). That kind of loyalty was not there because they admired his physical traits.
When you think of the best Christians you have known, what comes to your mind first? Do you remember the clothes they wore? Do you think of their face and hands or do you look deeper? You probably think about their love and faith. You probably dwell on their kindness, their courage, and their perseverance through hardships. You see them sitting consistently in a church building or hear their voice giving you good counsel from the Scriptures. Whether they are among the living or the dead, the impression they have made on you has nothing to do with their outward appearance.
I recently visited a sister in Christ I had not seen in over 20 years. I had thought a lot about her because of the strength she had shown in dealing with heartbreaking situations in her family. The memory of her courage in the mist of fiery trials had often encouraged me. When she answered the door, I saw her in a wheelchair just as I had always known her. But in all the times I had thought about her in recent years, I never thought about her disability. I remembered who she was inside. That is what made a lasting impression on me.
Our age, like ancient Greece and Rome, is obsessed with physical appearance. Men today need to know that “bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things” (I Tim. 4:8). Women need to be more concerned about who they are inside than how they look on the outside (I Tim. 2:9-11; I Pet. 3:3-4). The body with all its favors and handicaps will revert to the dust, but the spirit and the impression it has made on others will live on forever.
Kerry Duke
Vice President of Academics & Academic Affairs
Tennessee Bible College