When the prophet Samuel went to Bethlehem to select from the sons of Jesse one to succeed King Saul, he thought surely the tall, handsome Eliab was "the Lord's anointed." But he was admonished by God, "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Heeding this counsel of God, Samuel insisted on seeing all of Jesse's sons until David, the one he was instructed to anoint, appeared. As Samuel anointed the young man, "the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward."I Sam. 16:7, 13
A thousand years later, Christ Jesus and his disciples came upon "a man which was blind from his birth."See John 9:1-3 While Jesus and the disciples were confronted with the same "outward appearance," the disciples saw something entirely different from what Jesus saw The common view, "as man seeth," was voiced by the disciples. They asked Jesus: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." The disciples obviously appeared to be impressed with the long-standing nature of the impairment. It was a typical response from the human mind, so often ready to find a material cause. From that point of view they easily slid into looking for someone to blame.
The human mind seems ever ready to find some physical action or material condition as cause for either a positive or negative effect. For instance, if someone were to burn his thumb, someone else might suggest that he was careless or that another person had been careless. Instead of drawing material conclusions and making false accusations, we should follow the example of Jesus. He was able to see beyond the outward appearance. He saw the works of God—man created and maintained in God's likeness. With his reply to his disciples regarding the man who was born blind, Jesus swept aside accusations, blame, and guilt. He gave no reality or power to human cause and effect. He saw the occasion as an opportunity to witness "the works of God." Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, describes this ability to see man as the perfect creation of a perfect God, in her book Science and Health. She writes: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."Science and Health, pp. 476-477
