Lay Lake Church of Christ Bulletin
Volume 5, Number 35
Ronnie Scherrfius
In 1884 a young man died and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, “Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship.”
We were thinking of something more substantial than that……perhaps a building,” the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a $26 million memorial named Leland Stanford Junior University, better known today as Stanford!
How vividly is humanity represented! It seems we are always looking on the outward appearances; ever concerned with status, achievement and appraisal of society!! How desperately ought Christians to imitate the character of their heavenly Father: “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Sadly, when our Savior walked the earth many of his own people foolishly rejected himbecause he did not correctly portray what they believed the Messiah should be. Isaiah prophesied of this saying, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2).
Perhaps it is the case that we too look upon the outward appearance of our fellowman and miss the great privilege of having true Christian friends on whom we can depend. We ought not be too judgmental of others simply because of plain appearances or of the common life they lead, rather we should look to the heart and judge others by their character and love for Christ. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).