The view from God's island of misfit toys

God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." (I Samuel 16:7/The Message)

Last weekend, I heard a pastor describe the world as God's island of misfit toys. That description may bring a grin of acknowledgment. If it does, it's because -- unconsciously, perhaps -- we have our own standards of what constitutes "normal."

Those standards are rigid and unforgiving. If you tend to doubt that last sentence, spend a couple hours at any junior high.

There are reasons anti-bullying posters start going up in school hallways around the seventh grade.

Children are moving from concrete to conceptual thinking, beginning to separate from dominating parental influence, and it's a fearful time.

There's fear of being left out of a clique, of being alone. One way to gain and secure membership in a group, to be accepted, is to image others negatively.

Kids who aren't dressed as well, kids whose social skills are not fully developed, kids who don't have the right "look," kids with physical challenges.

Junior high was, by far, the worst time for me as a child. Kids can be quite cruel to one another at this age. These same kids grow into grown-ups and, too often, the dismissive judgment of the other remains into adulthood.

But we human beings have our moments. The image of God, however obscured, however imperfect, does exist in all of us. We see glimpses of this image from time to time.

Case in point: On Sept. 5, Jackson High School students chose two students with disabilities as their homecoming king and queen. The picture of the pair in the newspaper you are now reading nearly brought tears to the eyes of this columnist.

It takes students with the foresight of I Samuel 16:7 to do this -- and they have my appreciation and respect.

I recall a friend of mine years ago who got married and who made an unusual choice for best man.

My friend, Dan, picked a physically small, socially isolated student to stand beside him as he said his vows.

I asked Dan, "Why did you pick him?" The person normally chosen for this honor is a best friend.

Warren was an acquaintance, but far from a buddy. Dan walked the path less traveled as he prepared for one of the biggest days of his life.

His answer: "I thought, who would appreciate the gesture more than Warren?"

Wow. All these years later, I still stand in awe of that selection and the generosity of spirit the choice represented.

In all the negativity we hear in the public square, the name-calling, the politics of personal destruction, the labeling of people as "losers," et al, there are still glimpses of the best impulses of humanity out there. I offer the two examples above as evidence.

If you have been similarly inspired by God-honoring actions, please share them: on social media, in a response to this article, in personal conversation.

It's true. God sees in others what we don't -- and at those times when we see it, too, there is rejoicing in heaven.