Making beautiful things

While pulling out some dead vegetation and getting rid of weeds I whistled a tune. “You make beautiful things… out of the dust.”  Why? Because I was thinking what a privilege it was to be able to make my corner of the world a little more attractive. Helping to create beauty is so rewarding. Painting a room, planting flowers, teaching a child … whatever it may be, we are privileged to make a difference. But, will we?   Creating beauty demands effort, sometimes lots of it! Weeds grow quite well without fertilizer, don’t they? When the rain does not fall, the good grass in my lawn dries up, but the crabgrass does just fine!  

Sin flourishes similarly in my heart. Rebellion, envy, and selfishness spring up just like the dandelions that seem to appear overnight. So, making our hearts beautiful requires work, real effort. In fact, it demands an intervention!  My best intentions, my most rigorous efforts, fall far short of tearing out the weeds that grow from my sinful nature.  But God steps in, through Christ Jesus, and changes everything. He gives me life and empowers me to become a person of noble character.  The Bible says that He will "provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:3, NIV)

Now, note the response of those so loved. "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." (Isaiah 61:10-11, NIV)

My prayers is for the Lord to make my life one in which the “beauty of His holiness” is on display today. I want to be one who overflows with love for Him, for others.  There is a kind of holiness that focuses on the superficial, that is built solely around rigid regulations of human behavior. It is ugly, not beautiful at all! Jesus, when interacting with some religious professionals, who specialized in forms of ‘holiness,’ described them as “whitewashed tombs!” In scathing terms He rejected their ‘holiness.’  "Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, … You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required." (Matthew 23:5-6, 23, The Message)

In those filled with His Holy Spirit, it shows. "He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." (Galatians 5:22-23, The Message)  Ah, now there is real beauty!

Let me leave you with a promise of greater Glory! As you read these words invite Him to put His beauty on full display in you today.
"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:9-11, NIV)
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Beautiful Things

All this pain;

I wonder if I'll ever find my way?

I wonder if my life could really change

At all?

All this earth,

Could all that is lost ever be found?

Could a garden come up from this ground

At all?

All around

Hope is springing up from this old ground!

Out of chaos life is being found

In You!

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of us.

You make me new,
You are making me new.

You make me new,
You are making me new.

Lisa Gungor | Michael Gungor

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Gungor performs live - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPBtExE4W0