For now we see obscurely in a mirror, but then it will be face to face. Now I know partly; then I will know fully, just as God has fully known me. {1 Corinthians 13:12}
What is beauty? This is a question that I think many Believers cannot answer. Some see it as a human flaw that ought to be hidden or disguised as much as possible. Some believe it is something to be paraded before the entire world. Others view it as something that can be found in every place, every act, and every person if you just look hard enough. I think there is a fatal flaw in all these methods of thinking. Certainly the purpose of beauty is not to be hidden, for then it would have no purpose to begin with. Of course it will lose value if paraded around like so many goods in a market. And I think it disingenuous to assume that everything holds some level of beauty. Did Stalin, Hitler, and other such evil characters hold some deeper level of good and beauty within them? Of course not! So then, if beauty cannot be defined by any of these terms, then what defines beauty? Why is beauty? What is the purpose of beauty?
Though there are few verses in the Scriptures that clearly outline the answers to these questions, if you take a step back and look at the Bible as a whole, it paints a very clear picture of beauty. It identifies the origin of beauty as God, and Yeshua [Jesus] as the human manifestation of the beauty of God. It points to heaven as the place where we will experience perfected beauty and defines the purpose for earthly beauty to serve as a reminder to look to the One who is beauty and created beauty.
Earthly beauty is but a fleeting glimpse of the perfect divine beauty that awaits us upon the Messiah’s Return. Often though, that glimpse is enough to point us in the direction of Truth. That is the purpose of the beauty God has surrounded us with in all of creation. When we recognize the beauty that God has created, and realize that it will not last forever, we are led by our desire for beauty to seek the eternal source of beauty.
“The grass dries up, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” {Isaiah 40:8}
Beauty is a gift; it should not be hidden and it should not be cheapened. It should be treasured as one facet of the wisdom of God which was given as a valuable tool to point the human spirit to Messiah.
About The Author
This article was, well, *beautiful*. Thanks!
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Kate's reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Thanks, Lauren. = )
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Really? There was absolutely nothing beautiful about Hitler or Stalin? You know this how? If GOD stills love and forgives them, who are you or anyone else to say there is no beauty in them. They still bear the image of God, How can you dishonor God himself by saying there is no beauty in one of his image bearers. Yes they made horrible choices, and id horrible things, but if that’s not enough to make Jesus reject them, what gives you the right?
I’m frankly shocked that you would say such a thing while claiming to believe in the goodness of God.
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Miss Kate's reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Carrien,
You pose a good question. How do I know that there was absolutely nothing beautiful about Hitler or Stalin? Because there is absolutely nothing beautiful in any of us apart from Messiah. Messiah is beauty and the source of beauty, and there exists no beauty or goodness of character apart from Him. To claim otherwise would be blasphemy. If either of these men had acknowledged Messiah and repented from their evil, of course they would have instantly been forgiven–that is the beauty of salvation by grace. However; Hitler ended as a coward and to the knowledge of historians, Stalin never regretted his mass atrocities either. Yes, God made Hitler and Stalin, but they made the choices to turn away from Him, reject Him, and despise Him. Jesus stands ready to forgive us our sins, but if we reject His forgiveness, we sentence ourselves to judgment. As far as human knowledge can reach, these two men are known as prime examples of this fact and stand as symbols of evil personified in our culture, hence, my using them as examples in my article.
Blessings,
Kate
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Amein!
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