In our story today of God, through Samuel, choosing young David as the next King of the Israelites, there is a verse that is really striking to me. It is:
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In this selection process for a king, there were many candidates who were seemingly qualified and eligible in the running. Jesse’s many sons were among them, but they were all rejected by God, one after another.
Who would have thought the youngest of Jesse’s sons, a humble shepherd in the field, would be the chosen one of God? But that should come as no surprise because it follows God’s pattern throughout salvation history of choosing the lowly ones to confound the wise of the world. Think of Our Blessed Mother, think of the saints, think of all the unsung heroes of our world who do so much good for others. Think of our own humble calling through the waters of baptism.
So, when that verse says that God doesn’t see appearances, but rather, he looks into one’s heart, what was it, then, that God saw in young David’s heart?
- It would seem God saw in David’s heart great courage, courage which would one day stand up to the giant Goliath with just a slingshot.
- Then God saw in David’s heart the sincerity of receiving God’s mercy, especially in later years after the prophet Nathan told David he had sinned and David repented.
- God also must have seen in David’s heart humility and a willingness to forgive others, especially when Saul tried to kill him, and his own son Absalom tried to steal his kingdom.
- And God saw in David’s heart a shepherd after God’s own heart, a shepherd who would risk his own life for his sheep, someone capable of giving his own life for the flock. It would be from David’s heritage, many generations later, that the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, would be born[1], the Good Shepherd who gave his life for us, the Good Shepherd whom we know as the Sacred Heart.
For each of us who have been called by God to love and serve God and others, we might pause and humbly ask ourselves: What does God see in my heart today?
[1] https://catholicpreaching.com/wp/the-qualities-of-heart-for-which-god-looks-2nd-tuesday-ii-january-16-2018/
