Your Beautiful Interior

I got tied up in a mood of reminiscent thought the other day which I’m beginning to think just naturally comes with age as one reflects on life’s accomplishments and failures. I often count my blessings of today and remember that even in the struggles of the past I’ve always felt blessed with what I have. While still in the service to our country, and not making much money at all, I and my roommates used to buy canned goods that were a little beat up and had lost there labels. Of course the contents of such cans were totally unknown but at five and ten cents a can who cared? Opening a can was always full of fun and always a surprise. Inside could be corn, cranberry sauce, spinach, green beans and on occasion, dog or cat food - Yuk! It was unlikely two cans of the same thing were opened at one time and I learned early on the peas and carrots go together good in the same pot.

It is told that in 2015, a certain Mrs. Barton of Newport, Oregon, was selling her house. To the passer-by and prospective buyer it was a rather unassuming house with white aluminum siding, a two car garage and a small lawn in the front; a pretty average, boring house. But it’s a house with hidden secrets. When one steps inside they are greeted to a splendid interior filled with Renaissance furniture imported from Europe, drapery worth more than $10,000 dressing stained-glass windows and painted murals on the ceilings. The stained-glass windows came from English church buildings. Some of the ceilings are supported with gilded beams. On your computer type in the search phrase, “Oregon suburban house hides Renaissance interior” and link to the article in The Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk) where you can see pictures of the house and it’s interior. Mrs. Barton’s house isn’t much to behold from the outside but is a breathtaking abode of beauty inside.

[1 Samuel 16: 1-13] In this reading of scripture, Samuel is about to anoint for God, a new king to replace Saul. God sends Samuel to a man named Jesse to anoint one of his sons.  Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”, but to his amazement, God rejects him. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” One would never believe what the common-looking house of Mrs. Barton holds in store for the visitor who took the time to examine the interior. In the same way, the story of Samuel anointing the little shepherd boy, David, is a reminder that God sees much more in us than perhaps other people see. We should not be too quick to judge others, but instead ask, “What does God see in that person?” If God can see potential, beauty, strength and faith, then I should honor that person for the “work of art” he or she is in the eye of God. When counting our blessings we ought to remember the wonder that God looks beyond our faults and weaknesses to love us anyway. God sees us as diamonds in the rough with our hopes and dreams, our potential, our skills and gifts, which can bring glory to His name. Let us live as though God has anointed us to honor and bring praise to him, just as Mrs. Barton’s house brings amazement to its visitors, yet remains a humble, unassuming house with hidden secrets. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom ...with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:16-17). Beautify your inside.