The point of all of life is to realize that God is the only thing that makes this life bearable. He goes about proving it to us every day. He literally is the only True Beauty, there is no other.
I have looked high and low and I can honestly say there is none good but God. People, events and happenings all reveal their true colors; they’re either from God or horribly disappointing.
True Beauty Our Human Pursuit
Our human eyes search this globe looking for something desirable, something praiseworthy, something worth it all. We each seek it with earnest. And much of our search turns up only disappointment. The hoped for good is not found and our hearts sink down in despair. Yet these results don’t quell our seeking. Quite the contrary, we yearn more desperately and pursue it with more fervor.
We seek it within experience, in happenings, through connection, and tangible matter. But our findings are hollow and lackluster. The reason for this is, He is the only good to be found and it’s revealed to us daily. It’s only in His touch, His experience, His gifts, and His purpose, that we find the things we’re longing for, whether we know it or not. He is the goodness we all seek and inevitably fail to find apart from Him.
Let’s take a look at any life event. If Christ be Author of the happening, it radiates with His Life and Love. The moment teems with purpose. Even the most common of circumstances vibrates with Him when He is the source. We can bundle all the experiences of this world that happen apart from Him and they together don’t have the meaning and purpose of a single occasion with God.
True Beauty in Physical Beauty
Then there is physical beauty. The best of its kind leaves the heart wanting without the shine of Christ. Sure, I can be attracted or enticed by the external beauty of another, but it’s nothing compared to the radiance of Christ in a life.
I was on a trip with Martha and everyone kept mentioning to me how beautiful she was. They took her picture over and over and shared them with me. Why? Because this 76 year-old woman glows with Christ’s beauty. Beyond her natural beauty, she is radiant because He is the only true beauty found on this earth. People take notice and recognize it whether or not they acknowledge it as Him. She is striking because He is striking.
True Beauty in Hollywood
I would like to share with you my philosophy of earthly beauty. It’s a philosophy that Hollywood fights tooth and nail. Hollywood says that beauty is sufficient at skin’s depth. Most every star fights the natural progression of an aging external shell. They nip, tuck, prick and plump against the natural process of aging. It’s stated through their attitude and seen in their actions. If you can make someone look younger and more youthful, then they are beautiful. But what you find on the contrary is a horde of ghouls and caricatures. Mangled carnage is provided as proof of the vehement resistance to the natural order. We all age; it is not a crime! Like the flower we bud, bloom and then begin to wither. Each stage has a beauty of its own like the changing of seasons. And I contest that the only thing that makes us beautiful, regardless of stage, is Christ! The most wrinkled person with the internal beauty of Christ’s Life is more attractive than even the most attractive budding starlet without Him.
Our value as a Christian is true Beauty, which is Christ. This is a beauty beyond words and above fleshly polish. Christ is the only beauty and He rises above any wilting flaws.
True Beauty in Nature
I sat on the edge of Lake Como in the Swiss Alps of Italy, taking in the landscape. As I gazed at the beauty before me, I began to cry because even the best this world has to offer is still just dung on its own. This gorgeous place is considered by many to be a jewel of Europe. George Clooney and Richard Branson call it home. But as I looked through the eyes of my spirit, this earthly high place is but a whiff. Celebrated by the wealthy, its beauty is still failing. It’s hollow and empty, bar its connection to God. It’s just another body of water, surrounded by hills, mountains, trees and buildings inhabited by desperate people. Its beauty fails to satisfy for anything beyond a momentary glance. But if that moment is infused with our Living God, its beauty transcends the mere moment.
I have traveled all over this globe to see awe-inspiring scenes. I have looked upon amazing specimens of youth and beauty. I have encountered delights in food and experiences. And what I have come to see is that nothing but God is beautiful and worthy of praise. There is none, no not one, who rivals Christ alone. This world continually presents its best and the reality is, nothing compares to Him. He is the only Good, the One Thing worth pursuing, and the only True Beauty. If our moments are filled with Him, we have satisfaction. If our bodies and souls are filled with Him, we are beautiful. He is the only beauty found on this earth!
I’m asking the Lord for only one thing. Here is what I want. I want to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I want to look at the beauty of the Lord. I want to worship Him in His temple.
Psalm 27:4 NIRV
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17 NKJV
John, as I read this , the book of Ecclesiastes comes to mind. Who was better suited, who could have been the most fitted instrument to tell us the utter incapacity of all that is under the sun to satisfy the heart cravings, than the one who had unlimited means and given personal capacity of finding the value and beauty in the creature if it had been possible. Solomon experienced the state of the man in his departure from God, our natural state apart from God ” the things under the sun”. And because he was given the highest capacity,… Read more »
My wrinkles thank you John. Ha ha Great post. Love to all Wanda
So beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
But Beauty…is in the eye of the receiver!
It is as you have said John! True beauty is not an adjective!
It’s a Person! Our Lord Jesus Christ!!
Woaa…. thank you John & commenters! (Martha is gorgeous and chic… with that spark in her eyes like saying “hey, I may be old but Christ reigns!!” Love it… I wish to be like that with 76 years and half the fights and battles and scourgings she has on her torn back.
Publicy, I want to thank you John for taking her in this trip.
Christ abounds in His own beauty in behalf of you.
May He yet abound more.
Love from the South of Europe!
Sam! Are you from Venezula or Espana!!????
Spain, Sandy… a beautiful land filled of people devoted to not so beautiful things.
May the Lord have mercy.
Love you Sandy.
“Jesus…its Jesus that’s drawing them…” That was my unspoken answer. A few weeks ago I was enjoying breakfast in town with a beloved friend. She is so in love with Jesus that He literally radiates through her. You can see Him in her face. You can hear Him in her speech. You feel His love when she loves you. Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image;…male and female He created them.” She is one who the “image of God” is seen in. I live in a very small town and it’s not uncommon to have people I… Read more »
Oh John, this post is beautiful. I am joining you in praying these two scriptures at the close. They hold a whole new meaning for me. I stand amazed at how the LORD is blessing the work of your hands (this re-vamping of Shulamite web-site, etc.) Some days I weep at the commitment you all have for sending out a message every day, no matter where you are ——even on vacation. The beauty of the LORD is truly on this ministry and those involved. Because of Martha’s pursuit of Christ and Christ alone, the world no longer has a “hold… Read more »
Amen, Sue! I also sense the beauty of Christ in the commenters to this blog post.