A Book And Its Cover... And All That

As we get closer to Easter the regular Easter songs and Easter readings start popping up at church a bit more frequently. Almost like Carols, Isaiah 9 and Michael Bublé come out of hibernation in the run-up to Christmas. One of these Easter readings is the prophecy of Christ's crucifixion from Isaiah 53. It's a fairly well-known passage quoted in many songs and sermons, but the bit that stood out for me this morning was right at the start of the chapter in verses two and three:

"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem."

It got me thinking about how I judge and value people at a glance most of the time. I had to ask myself these questions: Would I have held Jesus in low esteem if I met Him back in Biblical times? Would I have missed out on Him ministering to me because He wasn't much to look at? Would I have missed out on a miracle because I wasn't drawn to His appearance? Would I have made a decision about following Him or not based on what He looked like, or not?

Heavy questions, and purely theoretical, of course, but the more important and relevant questions I got to were these: Am I missing Jesus today because He is not much to look at? Am I missing opportunities to minister to and serve Him today because He isn't eye-catching? Am I rejecting His love and care today because He doesn't quite look like the King of Heaven I am expecting?

Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that He will not always appear to us as we might expect. In the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 Jesus describes what He might look like: hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in need of clothes, sick and in prison. In verse 40 the King says:

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

Read the rest of that chapter too, please. If the outside appearance of a person is less important to God than what is going on in their hearts, should we not have the same approach, or is our value system skewed by the world we live in and what it deems valuable?

When I was at university I went on a weekend church camp. It was a great opportunity to meet people, make new friends, worship together and be encouraged through good teaching. There were also plenty of time to just relax, go for walks or play sports together. On one occasion I played touch rugby right up until a combined team-building session was about to start. I was sweaty and smelly and rather nervous for whomever would be sitting near me. It was an outdoor exercise for which I was grateful, but when I saw who I was paired up with, I became really, really worried and self-conscious. One of the most beautiful girls at the camp (if not on the whole university campus) and I would be locked elbow-to-elbow for the next 30 minutes... well within smelling distance.

But my worries were unfounded. She never once said anything about my musky stench, or even pulled up her nose at me as we locked elbows and traversed an obstacle course together. We finished the session with no troubles at all. Then I ran for the showers as fast as I could. I can't remember her name or what she looked like exactly, but I remember how her acceptance of me with my touch-rugby induced miasma made me feel to this day. I was accepted as I was when it would have been perfectly reasonable not to be. And her acceptance of me, stench and all, made me want to be better.

What's that saying about judging a book by its cover? In 1 Samuel 16:7 God guides Samuel in anointing David to become king of Israel. He says:

"Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Jesus was very intentional about not letting people's appearances get in the way of him ministering to them. He spent time with prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, sinners, religious leaders and all sorts in-between without pulling up his nose at them, all the while staying holy and pure. Maybe we too should follow the example of Christ in our dealings with those who look different to us. 

I saw a sign outside a church once. It read "You just love them, I'll sort them at the end. God." Our responsibility as Christ followers is to love everyone around us no matter who they are. The unlovable, the friendly, the distance keepers, the sinners, the saints, and everyone in-between, and leave the judging to God who can see the heart of every person.

This Easter time and beyond, may we learn to love before we start to judge. May we try to relate before we try to alter behaviour. May we aim to understand before jumping to conclusions. May we love as Christ loves us.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash