God Doesn’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. And this season, we’re on a tractor! 

You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus through another faith lesson in the barnyard.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn how Dannah Gresh’s husband, whom she sometimes calls Farmer Bob, went out to buy goats one day but came back with . . . llamas! One of them, named Lullaby, is going to teach us a sweet and powerful lesson about God’s character.

Have you ever heard the word “omniscient”? If not, buckle up for some vocab today, as we learn more about God from one of his creature teachers.

Let’s get Farmer Bob back on that tractor for the third episode of season 5, titled, “God Doesn’t Judge a Book by Its Cover!” Here’s Staci!

Staci Rudolph: Dannah, I’ve decided which animal I wanna meet today on the Gresh Farm.

Dannah Gresh: Yeah?

Staci: I want to meet that incredibly tall, friendly-looking, grayish-brown llama!

Dannah: All right, let’s head out to the pasture.

Staci, meet Nessa Rose! She’s my eleven-year-old llama. Uh . . . no . . . don’t pet her with your hand. Llamas find that to be very rude! They say hello with their noses.

Staci: I see that, she’s stickin’ hers right out at me.

Dannah: And . . . she wants you to stick your nose out to touch hers, Staci!

Staci: Are you kidding me?

Dannah: No, try it! After you do, she’ll let you pet her.

Staci: Hey! I did it! And yep, now she’s letting me pet her! She is soooo incredibly soft!

Dannah: Yeah, she’s a suri llama. They are a certain kind of llama that have a shiny, almost curly, coat, rather than the course, wool-like fiber most llamas have. That’s why her hair is so fun to stroke. And, she loves a good scratch.

Staci: Did you hear that? 

Dannah: Oh course I did. That was Nessie. That’s the sound llamas make! Sounds pretty weird, doesn't it?

Staci: I had no idea they make that kind of noise! 

Dannah: Well, what kind of sound did you think they made?

Staci: I don’t know. Something like a moo and a baa. 

Dannah: Okay,I’m really glad they don’t sound like that! 

Staci: Yeah, I guess I am, too! How many llamas do you have here on the farm, Dannah?

Dannah: Just Nessie these days. But you really need to hear about how we ended up with llamas in the first place.

Staci: I was wondering how someone goes about getting llamas.

Dannah: Well, after we moved here, Farmer Bob decided to go buy some goats. But he came home with llamas!

Staci: Wait, wait, wait. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to Farmer Bob, but I’m looking at your goats and your llamas right now, and they don’t look anything alike! The goats are little and very cute, and the llamas are tall and kind of look sort of like camels. Did he get confused?

Dannah: Ha ha, no. He definitely knows the difference between the two. And you’re so observant. Camels are the cousins of llamas. Llamas are part of the biological family known as camelids. When Farmer Bob saw the llamas . . . well, he loved them! So, he brought a few home.

Staci: I can see why he loved them so much. They have such interesting and kind personalities. No wonder they’re so popular on t-shirts and stuff right now.

Dannah: I agree. But, Staci, I have to admit, one of the llamas he brought home . . . well, she taught me a big lesson. Her name was Lullaby. She had all these marks and blotches in her fur. I just didn’t like them very much. She had freckles across her nose and, well, she just wasn’t as pretty as Nessie here.

Staci: Are you saying you thought she was ugly?

Dannah: Umm, yeah. That’s probably the right word—which sounds totally shallow now that you say it out loud, but that’s just how I honestly felt. But do you know what? Lullaby ended up being the sweetest llama in our little herd! We had a total of eight, most of them older girls. No one stood still as nicely as Lullaby when it was time for shearing. No one lifted her foot as willingly as Lullaby when it was time for me to clip their toenails.

Staci: Gross.

Dannah: Someone had to do it.

Lullaby was always taking care of the llama babies—we had two on our farm. Nessie was one of them . . . born right here on the Gresh farm. And I’ve got to say, Lullaby was quite a Mama Llama! 

I could even trust human children take her for a walk when they visited the farm. She was always so gentle and tender. I spent a lot of time with her because she was just so fun to be with.

Staci: Sounds like Lullaby became your favorite one!

Dannah: Exactly. And that brings us to our Scripture verse for the day. When I realized I had been judging Lullaby by her appearance, it reminded me of 1 Samuel 16:7:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

Now, who was Samuel judging in that Scripture?

Staci: Oh, I know that! Samuel was sent by God to anoint the next king of Israel. There was a group of brothers, and many of them looked like they would be good king. They were strong, tall, had good looks, and all that great stuff. But God was telling Samuel not to judge based on how they looked on the outside because that’s not what God was looking for in the next king. He was looking for the right kind of heart, not the right kind of appearance.

And do you know who God chose as the next king?

The youngest, smallest brother of all those “kingly-looking men”—David. They actually had to call David in from taking care of the sheep so Samuel could meet him because his father would have never imagined the small guy was the one God wanted anointed as king!

David wasn’t anybody special. And he didn’t look special, at least on the outside. But God saw something the others around him just couldn’t see: his heart. And it was just right, even if David’s outside still had some growing to do!

Dannah: That’s true. Staci, do you know why God is so good at seeing the heart and we are not? 

Staci: Tell me!

Dannah: God is all-knowing! Now, the big word for that is omniscient!

Staci: Omniscient! Good vocab word. I’m writing it down. 

Dannah: And God’s not just all-knowing in the I-can-solve-every-math-problem all-knowing like maybe a math whiz you know. Or I-know-where-to-find-things-no-one-else-can like your mom! (But He does know where all the lost stuff is.)

Beyond that, God knows everything! He even knows what is in our hearts. It’s like he has super X-ray vision to see past our face and everything on the outside to know if our hearts are beautiful or not. 

Staci: That’s amazing. I sure can’t do that.

Dannah: Me either. That’s why I’m glad Lullaby taught me the truth of this Bible verse. God doesn’t judge a book by its cover!

Staci: :I can see what you’re getting at. Lullaby was a great creature teacher! She didn’t look like anything special on the outside, with her blotchy fur and spots, but her inside was really, really special. 

Dannah: Yep. That was Lullaby’s lesson for my heart. Staci, do you ever get tempted to judge people by what they look like on the outside?

Staci: Oh man, yes. I can remember a time when I judged the new girl who had just started going to my school. She dressed a little differently than the rest of us and wouldn’t really talk to anyone. I just thought she was sooo weird. It wasn’t until I took the time to get to know her that I realized how cool of a person she was! She was just shy and needed a new friend in her new school.

Dannah: It’s funny because none of us want to be judged just by what we look like on the outside. We really want to be known for who we are in our hearts and minds, but we judge people all of the time for what we see on the outside. 

Staci: You know what, Dannah? This makes me want to turn our Scripture for the day into a prayer like, “God, help me see people like You see them. Help me see their hearts, not just what they look like on the outside.”

Dannah: Oh, I think that would be good for all of us to do. True Girl, how about this week when you see someone you’re tempted to judge by their outside, you pray that prayer Staci just prayed? Ask God to help you see their heart.

Staci: Hey, Dannah. I have a question. Where is Lullaby? You said there’s just Nessie on the farm. 

Dannah: Well, when I realized how special Lullaby was, I prayed a special prayer over her. I said, “Jesus, this llama has a lovely heart and has become my special friend. Please let her live a long and healthy life.” And she did. Most llamas live to be about twenty years old. Lullaby got twenty-eight amazing years on this earth—eleven of them here on my farm. God answered my prayer. 

But this winter, Lullaby crawled into a corner and told me she was tired. I said goodbye to her and thanked her for teaching me to look with eyes like God’s—eyes that see the heart!

Staci: Aw, I’m so sorry. 

Dannah: I don’t wanna cry. Quick, tell a joke or something! 

Staci: Uh, okay. Hey Dannah, do you know why llamas don’t have a hard time waking up in the morning?

Dannah: Umm, no. Why?

Staci: Because they use aLLAMA clocks! Get it?

Dannah: Okay, yeah. I get it. Good one, Staci!

Staci: What’s a llama’s favorite drink?

Dannah: What are you talking about?? I have no idea! What is a llama’s favorite drink?

Staci: LLAMAnade!! 

Dannah: Oh my, I think that’s enough for today. Staci, stop! No more llama puns!

Staci: Yeah, okay, no probLLAMA!!!

Claire: I don’t know about you, but I sure had a lot to learn from Lullaby the Llama and 1 Samuel 16:7. Remember, man looks at the outward appearances, but God—in His all-knowing power—looks at our hearts. We can’t do that, but we can ask Him to help us see people the way He sees them. 

For more lessons from the barnyard, remember, we’re shipping The Barnyard Box right now to our True Girl subscribers. If you join us, we’ll deliver discipleship tools right to your front door. The Barnyard Box features a biblical lesson in obedience, and it is full of horse and barn themed items. Subscribe today before supplies for this box run out. Go to MyTrueGirl.com.

Join us for the next episode of the True Girl Podcast where Dannah introduces Staci to another one of her favorite creature teachers: a magnificent black and white half-Arabian horse named Truett. Truett taught her how God loves and cares for us even when we’re a whole lotta work. You’ll also learn what animal fact is probably going to keep Staci up all night. See you then, True Girl!

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts Calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness!

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