God Sees under the Hood

On Father’s Day, our church hosted a car show outside the Family Life Center. Eleven individuals brought out their prized vehicles, and it was a joy to walk among them—admiring the shiny exteriors, then peeking inside to view the interiors and engines. Ten classic cars stood proudly on display, alongside one sleek, modern outlier: a white Tesla. Unlike the others, when you opened its hood, there wasn’t an engine inside—just a box of donuts! I knew Teslas were different!

The car show gave us an inside-and-outside view of every vehicle. Imagine if we could see people that way—what’s under the hood, so to speak. But we can’t. Only God can. As the Lord told Samuel, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

God said this to Samuel when he was choosing Israel’s next king. Samuel thought he had the right man the moment Jesse’s first son walked in. He looked the part. But one by one, each son was rejected until David—the youngest, tending sheep—was summoned. And he was the one. Not because he looked the part, but because God saw his heart.

It’s a reminder to us: We often make snap judgments based on what we see—how someone dresses, speaks, or where they live. But God sees deeper. He knows motivations, convictions, and character. He sees what’s truly inside.

In the account of his anointing, David is completely passive. He didn’t volunteer to be king. He was brought in, anointed, and filled with the Spirit. Before David ever acted, God acted upon him. The same is true for us. Before we live faithfully, God must first work in us.

In Baptism, God washed you clean. Through His Word, He feeds and grows your faith. In Communion, He strengthens and forgives you. Faithful living flows from God’s faithful action.

David’s life points forward to Jesus. David was acted upon with grace; Jesus was acted upon with cruelty—arrested, condemned, crucified. Yet Jesus willingly allowed it, because through His death and resurrection, God was doing His greatest work: saving us. As Peter preached at Pentecost, “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:24).

Peter even links David and Jesus in that same sermon. He quotes David’s psalms and reminds us that David’s tomb remained occupied—Jesus’ did not. Their stories intertwine, just like Jesus’ story and ours.

Because of Jesus, God gives us a new heart. As Martin Luther put it, “The love of God does not find but creates that which is lovable.” David had a good heart because God gave him one. And by faith in Christ, you do, too.

David’s heart wasn’t perfect. But it was faithful. He turned to God in times of failure, sorrow, and joy. That’s what made him a man after God’s own heart.

Stay tuned for more posts on David’s life!