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The Forward Day by Day Meditation for July 10, 2013

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WEDNESDAY, July 10

1 Samuel 16:1-13. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.”

God told Samuel to go and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. Eliab, the first to be presented, is tall, strong, and “kingly.” Samuel assumes Eliab is the future king. We know it will be the youngest, David, the family shepherd. Looks can fool.

So can names and addresses. When I moved to Zuni, New Mexico, I searched online to find the Episcopal church in Gallup. It was called Church of the Holy Spirit and located on Country Club Drive. I was immediately discouraged. I had been dressing very casually for several years, after living in Vermont. I did not even have a dress for cold winters. I expected to be looked up and down by the country club set when I entered the sanctuary in my black jeans and turtleneck, so I braced myself for my first Sunday worship.

Like Samuel, I was wrong. The people were few, but loving. Holy Spirit became my church family immediately, not minding my casual clothes. It was out of this church whose address had scared me that my call to ordained ministry came.

Appearances, addresses, and reputations can prevent us from seeing God’s people.

PRAY for the Diocese of Orlu (Owerri, Nigeria)

Ps 119:1-24 * 12, 13, 14; Acts 10:1-16; Luke 24:13-35