Man looks on the Outward Appearance....

 Elizabeth and I enjoyed all the butterflies we saw at the zoo.  There were so many with vibrant colors.  The docents told us, as we walked in, that there were some large blue butterflies fluttering around that were called blue morphos.  We were told that we wouldn't get a picture of their blue beauty unless we caught them in flight.  They always sit with their wings closed.  The bottom of their wings has a tan and brown pattern.  If you see them sitting they are pretty boring looking.  They are impressively large (2-3" long) but not exactly beautiful.  We saw several of them.  We even saw a couple flying, but with so many people in a tight space it was near impossible to get a picture.

Then I happened to glance in the back of some plants and a blue flash of color caught my eye and there was a blue morpho with it's wings open sitting quietly.   Yes, the butterfly in the top photo and the one just above are the same type of butterfly.  Just one has their wings open and the other closed.  They look so different!

So often we judge others by the way they look.  We only see them as they are with their wings closed.  We don't take the time to get to know what they are like on the inside.  We miss out on the color of who they really are.  We judge them before we know them.  We miss out on many blessings and opportunities.

1 Samuel 16:7 says... "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  We need to make sure our hearts are pleasing to God.  We need to make sure we have accepted His forgiveness, so we have beautiful hearts.  Perfection is His standard, and it can only be found in His son Jesus.  But God gives it freely to all who seek Him.