Recently I had a chance to volunteer at my high school to help seniors. One, in particular, was working on a project that really concerned her, a college application letter. She was stressed. This was a time in which I had a chance to wear my dad hat at the same time I wore my teacher hat.

She is a pretty girl, surrounded by a world and high school boys who constantly push her and value her based on the fact that she is a young, pretty, female. Somehow that gets ingrained. She is labeled and stereotyped by her peers and the false value system of the world around her. But I’m an old guy, a dad type guy. Pretty is nice, but it is a value far down the road from the real ones, the important ones.

It didn’t take long to distract her from the false value system and dive in to the real one. “Who are you? What are your value guidelines? What makes you do what you do? What does your heart say about you?” In short, I began to quiz her about her personhood, the things God looks at in us. The pharisees and sadduccees missed Jesus because their hearts weren’t toward God but were toward other things. This young woman has a great heart and has proven it already.

One of her core values is excellence, a great quality! She has proven it in the way she does school, dual enrollment, sports, and other facets of her life. Easy to verify in a letter to people who will know her by her words and actions and not by appearance, the college. She is a person of compassion and caring, verified by her missionary trip and various projects and life activities outside of school, including a full work schedule. I realized I was in the presence of one of my hero types who was only seventeen, but already great in heavenly stature. 

Her open gratitude for my help was another proof of her personhood. I had only acted as a mirror, reflecting to her the qualities and values closest to her heart. She was empowered to write a solid college application letter, which included the verifications of those qualities in her actions. She was satisfied with the letter and felt it was solid. I was satisfied because I was able to show her that she was so much more than the labels and appearances, a great dad moment type thing.

The real value in this for me was related to my Jesus relationship. I think I too often see Jesus talking and dealing with familiar appearances when I read the Bible. He is not. He is talking to the hearts, the inner being, of those with whom He is dealing. He is not distracted by rich, famous, poor, unknown, pretty, ugly, powerful, weak, or any other appearance. He goes straight to the heart and talks there. I often miss that.

This seventeen year old person, whose stature is already great in the real kingdom, reminds me and preaches to me in her life about the two most important things I need to track all the time. 1. Life is relationship, personhood to personhood, especially with Jesus. 2. It is about the heart, not the labels, stereotypes, or appearances. God is not ashamed of young people and feels free to use them in His plan for His hope in this world. This young woman is already aware and involved with that plan.