There’s just something about beauty that has a universal appeal. My reference is not to physical attractiveness but rather the beauty that surrounds us if we take time to see it. Music moves us, especially those ballads that tell stories with which we can identify. Artists create in many ways, making the beauty of their imagination visible to us in their work.
Beauty is found ...
in that
tiny flower blooming alongside of a sidewalk,
the hummingbird that appears to
glisten in the sun’s light,
the fawn following a doe across the lawn,
the crash
of waves on a beach under the splash of sunrise colors,
the jagged mountains
that pierce the sky,
the sparkle of water on the river,
the face of an old person
who has learned to live in peace …
go ahead, think of beauty you appreciate.
We love beauty, though various cultures, even generations within a culture, would define what is ‘beautiful’ much differently. Here is what I know- we are like our God when we are making things beautiful – in our relationships, within the organizations, or even that little spot of lawn that is under our management.
Most importantly, we are made ready to do the work of God when we invite the Spirit to make us beautiful from the inside out - people who love, encourage, serve, know joy, bring happiness, leaving blessings wherever we go. David sang - "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4, NIV) When we come to know His beauty, we reflect it into our world.
The Bible tells us that the people of the Lord built a
Temple in Jerusalem. The place where the Presence of God symbollically intersected
with the earth was a wonder of the ancient world, resplendent with gold,
designed to produce awe for the Name of the LORD. The true beauty of that place
that was not the architecture, however. The wonder came from the Presence of
God. The ancient chronicler of Israel’s
history noted this - "The priests
could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious
presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God." (2 Chronicles 5:14,
NLT) The Glory of the Presence!
Today, God’s people are His temples. That ancient temple
fell into neglect decades after Solomon built it, the beauty was marred by
idolatry and the people filled that place with clutter. A boy king, Josiah,
cleaned it out and restored the former glory!
In much the same way, our lives can become cluttered with other things,
His radiance obscured by our sin, our willfulness, even our love of other
‘gods.’ But, Christ Jesus, will replace
hate with love, bitterness with joy, anxiety with peace, confusion with
assurance, fear with peace.
Yes, He makes beautiful people. We vary in our intelligence, our physical
attractiveness. Some of enjoy a natural charisma or are blessed with the ‘right’
kind of face or body that others perceive as beautiful. A few of us are equipped to do things that impress
others.
But, all of us who are in Christ can radiate God’s glory,
leaving
others awed, not by us, but by the Spirit who lives in us.
We no longer need to make a pilgrimage to some holy site or
a church building to experience His beautiful Presence. The Spirit touches us
where we are, IF we have the ‘eyes’ to see Him, ‘ears’ to hear Him, and a heart
that responds to the moving of the Lord in us. In prayerful worship, we can
invite that Presence to suffuse our being and His beauty overflows in us and
through us.
Paul teaches us that God has a plan to reveal His beauty through us and in us. He writes to us, inspired by the Spirit, to say that “Christ’s love makes the church (you and me) whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.” (Ephesians 5:26-27)
A song we often sang in worshipful prayer in our church says,
Let
the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All
His wonderful passion and purity;
O
my Savior divine, All my being refine,
‘Till
the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
I invite you to make that your purpose and prayer. Age will inevitably erase the physical beauty
of youth. The carefully tended landscape
will eventually grow weeds. The mansion will fall into disrepair. But, the splendor that comes from a heart and
mind full of Jesus’ love never fades, growing only more beautiful as time
passes. So, what glory will you pursue?
Will it be the pretty face, the perfect body, the awesome accomplishment? Or, will it be the glory of God?
Here is a word from the Word. "If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way." (2 Corinthians 3:9-10, NLT) "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:17-19, NLT) Let’s pray to make life beautiful!
Lord, make Yourself glorious in us. Amen.
____________
(Video of this blog at this link)
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
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found
In You
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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