The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Seeing the Potential" for Sunday, 22 January 2017 with Scripture 1 Samuel 16:1 Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “How much longer are you going to go on grieving for Sha’ul, now that I have rejected him as king over Isra’el? Fill your horn with oil, and set out; I will send you to Yishai the Beit-Lachmi, because I have chosen myself a king from among his sons.” 2 Sh’mu’el said, “How can I go? If Sha’ul hears of it, he will have me killed.” Adonai said, “Take a female cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Adonai.’ 3 Summon Yishai to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you are to anoint for me the person I point out to you.”
4 Sh’mu’el did what Adonai said and arrived at Beit-Lechem. The leaders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?” 5 He answered, “In peace. I have come to sacrifice to Adonai. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Yishai and his sons and summoned them to the sacrifice. 6 When they had come, he looked at Eli’av and said, “This has to be Adonai’s anointed one, here before him.” 7 But Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t pay attention to how he looks or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. Adonai doesn’t see the way humans see — humans look at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks at the heart.” 8 Then Yishai called Avinadav and presented him to Sh’mu’el; but he said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 Yishai presented Shammah; again Sh’mu’el said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 Yishai presented seven of his sons to Sh’mu’el; but Sh’mu’el told Yishai, “Adonai has not chosen these. 11 Are all your sons here?” Sh’mu’el asked Yishai. He replied, “There is still the youngest; he’s out there tending the sheep.” Sh’mu’el said to Yishai, “Send and bring him back, because we won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. With ruddy cheeks, red hair and bright eyes, he was a good-looking fellow. Adonai said, “Stand up and anoint him; he’s the one.” 13 Sh’mu’el took the horn of oil and anointed him there in his brothers’ presence. From that day on, the Spirit of Adonai would fall upon David with power. So Sh’mu’el set out and went to Ramah.
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Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.[Matthew 7:1 (NRSV)]
The plant had only two puny leaves sticking out of a dirty clay pot. When one of the rummage-sale workers asked me, “Will you take it?” my first thought was,
Another plant? That scrawny thing?
But then I remembered a small space on my kitchen windowsill, just the right size for the ugly pot, and I brought it home. If this plant were to die, nothing would be lost. As months passed, one more leaf and then another and another appeared. With warm sunshine and an occasional drink of water, the little plant began to thrive.
Every time I look at the now-flourishing plant, I am reminded of how easily I make judgments about the potential of everything from plants to people. I think,
Oh, she’ll never amount to anything; look at all her tattoos! or What chance does he have, coming from a home like that?
or
She shouldn’t hire him; he’s done time in prison.
God looks at people’s hearts, not their outward appearance or circumstances. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:1 not to condemn people. Instead, we can help others experience God’s love, care, and grace — and then step back and watch for the transformations.
Read more from the author, here.
"More from Nancy Clark"
4 Sh’mu’el did what Adonai said and arrived at Beit-Lechem. The leaders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?” 5 He answered, “In peace. I have come to sacrifice to Adonai. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Yishai and his sons and summoned them to the sacrifice. 6 When they had come, he looked at Eli’av and said, “This has to be Adonai’s anointed one, here before him.” 7 But Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t pay attention to how he looks or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. Adonai doesn’t see the way humans see — humans look at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks at the heart.” 8 Then Yishai called Avinadav and presented him to Sh’mu’el; but he said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 Yishai presented Shammah; again Sh’mu’el said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 Yishai presented seven of his sons to Sh’mu’el; but Sh’mu’el told Yishai, “Adonai has not chosen these. 11 Are all your sons here?” Sh’mu’el asked Yishai. He replied, “There is still the youngest; he’s out there tending the sheep.” Sh’mu’el said to Yishai, “Send and bring him back, because we won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. With ruddy cheeks, red hair and bright eyes, he was a good-looking fellow. Adonai said, “Stand up and anoint him; he’s the one.” 13 Sh’mu’el took the horn of oil and anointed him there in his brothers’ presence. From that day on, the Spirit of Adonai would fall upon David with power. So Sh’mu’el set out and went to Ramah.
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Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.[Matthew 7:1 (NRSV)]
The plant had only two puny leaves sticking out of a dirty clay pot. When one of the rummage-sale workers asked me, “Will you take it?” my first thought was,
Another plant? That scrawny thing?
But then I remembered a small space on my kitchen windowsill, just the right size for the ugly pot, and I brought it home. If this plant were to die, nothing would be lost. As months passed, one more leaf and then another and another appeared. With warm sunshine and an occasional drink of water, the little plant began to thrive.
Every time I look at the now-flourishing plant, I am reminded of how easily I make judgments about the potential of everything from plants to people. I think,
Oh, she’ll never amount to anything; look at all her tattoos! or What chance does he have, coming from a home like that?
or
She shouldn’t hire him; he’s done time in prison.
God looks at people’s hearts, not their outward appearance or circumstances. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:1 not to condemn people. Instead, we can help others experience God’s love, care, and grace — and then step back and watch for the transformations.
Read more from the author, here.
"More from Nancy Clark"
The miracle of growing things has fascinated me since I was a young child. I loved the smell and texture of dirt filtering through my fingers or cascading off the edge of a hoe as I helped my mother and grandfather in their gardens. I never tired of watching a tiny seed grow into a lush green plant bearing beans or peas or colorful flowers.In the 13 places we have lived in our 50 years of marriage, I have tended whatever was available: rescuing a flower bed from invasive lilies-of-the-valley, taming out-of-control raspberry bushes, persuading peonies to flourish in rocky soil. My indoor plants have numbered as few as three and as many as 30, depending on how much window space was available. I have successfully grown two large grapefruit trees at least three feet tall from seeds in store-bought grapefruit and am now working on a third. The best miracles so far, however, are two flowering trees I planted about eight years ago as bare sticks from the Arbor Foundation that are now almost as tall as our one-story house.
So it is no surprise that I rescued the straggly plant I wrote about in this meditation (pictured above) just because I couldn’t bear to see it tossed aside. It was still green and perhaps would thrive with some loving care. It certainly lived up to its promise—and more! Now, many years later, it holds a place of honor among ivy, a spider plant, a fern, and seven violets.
The names of many plants don’t stick in my memory very well, even though my grandmothers and mother tried valiantly to teach me. What I do remember is the delight of walking under the bridal veil spirea as a child and emerging covered with the delicate white blossoms. I remember the soft tenderness of a lamb’s ear leaf and the fascination of watching the yellow blossoms of evening primrose gently unfold before my eyes.
In all those years of moving around, I had to leave many gardens and even some indoor plants to other caretakers. I remember in particular a small tree my son gave me as a Mother’s Day gift, which we planted in a large backyard many years ago in Illinois. I also remember a grapefruit tree that I had to leave with a friend when we moved from Pennsylvania to Michigan. Did those plants survive or perish?
Whatever their fate, I am comforted by I Corinthians 3:7, which reminds us that “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” A quote from the theologian Albert Schweitzer expands on this same theme: "No ray of sunshine is ever lost, but the green it awakens into existence needs time to sprout, and it is not always granted for the sower to see the harvest. All work that is worth anything is done in faith." Amen and amen!
You are welcome to follow my thoughts about writing, grammar, and country doctors on my combination website/blog at finishedright.me.[Nancy J. Clark]
The Author: Nancy Clark (Michigan, USA)
Thought for the Day: Today, I will try to see others through God’s eyes.
Prayer: O Lord, help us today to refrain from judging others and instead to see each person as someone of worth, created in your image. Amen.
Prayer focus: Someone I have judged
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