“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NCV).
Once home, one of our rock collecting friends helped us discover something cool and now my hubby is determined to find more of the same rocks. They are called Yooper Lights or Yooper Rocks. What is cool about them is that they look plain and ordinary, a rock you’d probably throw back into the water. But one caught my hubby’s interest, and it came home with us.
Well, one day when our friend was over, she was sharing with us her new Yooper Lights, that, even though they look basic, once a black light shines on it, the rock glows from within. For fun, my hubby scanned the backlight over our new collection and was so excited to see he had found one. We now own a black light flashlight, and the hunt will begin. But keep in mind they have only been found in Lake Superior and it’s best to walk the shores in the late hours of the day into the night, using your blacklight flashlight (we got lucky).
The Yooper Lights are incredibly special to discover and definitely a find for even the most basic rock collectors, as well as your seasoned rock collectors. What came to my mind was a couple simple truths we can discover from scripture like Yooper Lights.
Let’s start with the truth of how God sees every one of us. Remember the story of little David the shepherd boy? He was young, scrawny, and knew only how to care for sheep. But he loved God and would always praise God through the music of his harp. With seven older brothers, all stronger were looked to, to take care of things, David probably felt plain and overlooked. Even the Prophet Samuel tossed David aside as one who should be King. But here’s the best part of the story 1 Samuel 16:7, God told Samuel, “you see only what’s on the outside, I see David’s heart.”
David may have been a scrawny shepherd boy, nothing like his strapping brothers but God saw something great, a great king, a man after his own heart. Remember, if you ever feel not good enough or that you’re just too plain and ordinary. God sees not what the world sees. He looks at what’s in our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 ESV says, “keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the Springs of life.” and Matthew 5:8 NIV, “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” It doesn’t matter to God what the world sees, He is interested in you because you are His no matter who tosses you aside.
The second lesson I can glean from the Yooper Lights is what happens when a light is shone on it. Its inner beauty comes out making it extraordinary. The same happens to us when we’ve accepted Jesus into our life. Jesus said it clearly in John 8:12 ESV, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.” Jesus is our light and when he shines on and through us, we become extraordinary. 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV, “the God who said let your light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Now my hubby goes around with his cool rock and blacklight sharing the coolness of it to whoever will listen. With the same excitement, if not more, we need to go about with God’s word sharing how cool it is to have Jesus in our lives and all the great things he has done and promised.
Such simple truths from a plain ordinary rock found in a lake.
Written by Delaina Cischke
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Connect with God Daily
