“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – a French writer and aviator, author of The Little Prince).
The fox shares this secret with the “Little Prince” to explain that what makes a person or thing special is not its outward appearance. In this quote, the fox explains that the most important things in life—love, friendship, and character—can only be “seen” by the heart. It’s a line that has resonated with readers for decades. It feels almost spiritual, as if it belongs in the Book of Proverbs or in one of Jesus’s parables.
And in many ways, it captures something true.
The most important things in life really are difficult to measure. Love can’t be weighed. Faith can’t be photographed. Grace doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet. The deepest truths of our lives are often invisible to the eye.
If you were reading along in Ponderings a couple of weeks ago, you might recall a “pondering” that warned against Oprah Winfrey’s advice to “follow your heart.” Scripture, after all, reminds us that the heart can be unreliable and following it can be dangerous. There’s obviously a tension here.
So which is it? Should we trust the heart or be wary of it?
The answer, as it often does, lives in the middle.
The Bible doesn’t invite us to follow our hearts blindly, but it does encourage us to explore them. It also reminds us to look more deeply at others and not simply judge by what we see on the outside. Our propensity to judge by what we see isn’t new. Written thousands of years ago, 1 Samuel 16:7 states that while humans look at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.
The prophet Ezekiel spoke of God giving people “a new heart and a new spirit.” (Ezekiel 36:26).
A transformed heart sees differently. It notices what the world often overlooks: quiet kindness, hidden courage, and small acts of grace. It recognizes the presence of God in ordinary moments: a conversation, a prayer, a moment of shared silence.
In other words, the heart becomes a window to our soul. And when we take the time to look through the window, we begin to see things that were always there, the essential things about ourselves and others that can’t be seen from the outside.
Prayer: Gracious God, renew my heart so that I can see what truly matters about you and about others. Help me look beyond appearances and see what is essential and true. Give me a new and clean heart that beats in time with the heart you have for all people. Amen.
