When Out is “Out” and In is “In”
“Man looks on the
outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
If necessity is the
mother of invention, then challenges have to be its grandmother. Simply said, trials have a way of bringing
changes in our lives…and what kinds of changes are up to you and me.
For the Coca-Cola
Company, it came a few years back when Pepsi began to sneak up on them in the
sales department. Instead of developing a new marketing
strategy, they “blinked” and “flinched” and designed a new product. The “New Coke”
was supposed to take the beverage world by
storm, but the taste was a bust. The old
“Coke” was renamed “Coca-Cola Classic” and the carbonated corporation scrambled
not to fizzle.
For DC Comics, it
came in 1986 when sales of Superman comic books dropped to an all-time low. By giving a new identity to the classic super
hero, they confused fans and drew apathy from others.
Some were more
fortunate. Music groups such as the Beatles traded in
their mop-top locks for the Sergeant Pepper fad, and Madonna…well, that’s
another story.
Sports teams are not
beyond a new image (occasionally) themselves.
In 1997, the Denver Broncos ridded themselves of their longstanding
uniforms and donned an edgier appearance that led them to the next two Super
Bowls. And soon after, the Los Angeles
Lakers decided to trade their traditional court jerseys for a mod mesh model.
The result …a couple more NBA World Championships and a double dose of Staples
Center celebrations. The Seattle Seahawks did the same last year and brought
home the Lombardi Trophy for the first time.
In God’s economy, as
they say, it’s just the same…only different.
Except it doesn’t come from a new taste, plot, sound, hairstyle or
look. It comes from a new heart. To Him, outward change is out and inward
change is in. And it happens most
frequently to those who are willing to be shaped in His hands. Samuel was reminded of that fact when he
tried to anoint one of David’s brothers.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, we read God’s reminder that “Man looks on the outward
appearance, but God looks on the heart.”
There are various
examples in the Old Testament of God’s obsession with inner change. Words like “reforming” or “reshaping” are
used to denote the idea of something old that becomes something new. Isaiah tells us in 43:19,21, “See, I am doing
a new thing! Now it springs up; do you
not perceive it? I am making a way in
the desert and streams in the wasteland…the people I formed for myself that
they may proclaim my praise.”
Then Jeremiah
reiterates this reinvention when he writes about his vision of the potter who
molded a pot, but had to break it in order to re-form the vessel. Jeremiah 18:4 says, “So the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to
him.” God gives a message of hope to
the prophet that still lives through the ages… which is that the potter did not
throw away the pot, but softened it with some water and made it into something
brand new. I can’t help but think of the
great work that God did in men such a Jacob, Gideon, Peter, John, Mark and
anyone who is willing to admit their need for Him. But then again, necessity has a way of doing
that.
Terry
Risser
Reflections:
1) What was the
biggest change you experienced when you found salvation?
2) How is God
working something new in you right now?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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