Changing our Point of View

Changing our Point of View
Pentecost 3, 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17, Mark 4:26-34
For anyone in Christ
a new creation calls
in love that urges change:
to walk by faith not sight,
to live not for ourselves
but with the risen Christ,
to lift our blinkered gaze
from human points of view.

The old has passed away:
the world no longer spins
on axis of myself,
my efforts and my worth,
priorities and goals,
achievements and control.
The Lord looks on the heart;
our preconceptions fail.

So Jesse’s older sons
were not anointed ones.
Appearance, stature, age
did not determine choice.
The youngest shepherd boy
would be the future king,
endowed with Spirit power
though shadows lurked within.

For God can choose a child,
or be a homeless babe.
The smallest seed grows high
so birds can nest in shade.
We can’t control or know
how earth will bring to bear
the harvest that’s a gift
to reap with thankful prayer.