"Beauty has Smiled"

Have you ever done an internet search on the word "beauty"?  Type that simple word into almost any search bar, and you'll come up with similar results every time..... stylish hair-do's, faces hidden by heavy make-up, uncovered shoulders, and perfect nails. Beauty even has its own official website, teaching viewers how to do the perfect Beach Bombshells, when to use what shades of lipstick, and where to find the perfect skin treatments.

Is that really all beauty has been reduced to in this day and age?  Aerosol cans, colored minerals, and masks to cover up our true identity?

" Beauty has smiled, but not to welcome us; her face has turned in our direction, but not to see us. 

We have not been accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance. We may go when we please, we may stay if we can: 'Nobody marks us.' "

-C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory

Our culture has diminished beauty to an unimaginable level. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the things that it has to offer, and miss the true picture!  Many of us, if not all of us, long to be seen as beautiful. But if we're looking for the beauty the world has to offer, we can never be fulfilled.

Most of you probably already have an idea of where you think this is going...... the age-old Veggie Tales message, that you don't have to be like everyone else to be beautiful!  After all, "God made you special, and He loves you very much!"

But what if I told you there was something deeper?  Something even better He had in store for us?

God is the creator of beauty. He formed you uniquely and individually. You are the perfect handiwork of a God who does not, and by nature, cannot make mistakes. He knew you before He created the universe. He already had the perfect design in mind, and His heart rejoiced when He was able to breathe His breath of life into that rapturous creation He called you. And, yes, He loves you.

But I would challenge you to move past the modern church-message of "finding beauty and worth within" and "following your heart", and ask a simple question: Why?  Why would He love us?  After all, we had nothing, that He should desire us.

Unveiled in that question is perhaps one of the most incredible truths of all time: we are beautiful, because we are the image of the God of beauty.

The constant battle for security comes when we try to find something in ourselves. We look at those around us, and see something we don't have. We start to wonder if we're worth it. We look inside ourselves, desperately hoping to find something beautiful. And so often, we fail to see what we want. When I look at our culture, I see a people trapped, looking inside themselves for security and worth. They see figures like Kate Middleton, and long to look the same..... ignoring the fact that Kate is only 91 pounds, can't maintain a healthy weight, and has a medical condition that is growing dangerous with her efforts to perfect her body. Have any of us ever given a thought as to how Kate might feel?  Does she see herself as completely worthwhile, or beautiful?  If she does, why does she still battle disorders?  Why do we think we would be any more secure, if we were in her position?  We are trapped in the endless cycle of selfish ambition and vain conceit, which can only destroy. We look to the world, and find it empty.

And all the while, God stands in front of us, waiting. He has never left; He is the source of beauty. True beauty is found in Him, not in ourselves.

If you've ever seen a young woman completely dedicated to Christ, you know what I mean. Several weeks ago, a couple of us girls in Kansas City had the privilege of meeting a young adult named Stephanie. Despite the fact that she was a home school alumni, affiliated with the same major group as we were, I had never seen or heard of Stephanie, until we received a church email update, inviting us to a church where they would be streaming Leslie Ludy's 2014 Set-Apart Girl Conference. When we arrived at the small location, we were greeted by a sweet, friendly smile. As she gave us a package of notes and chocolate, you could sense the radiance surrounding her, and could immediately tell that Stephanie was rooted in Christ. Throughout the conference, I was amazed and blessed by her sweet demeanor and the love of Jesus that you could sense flowing out of her. She wasn't wrapped up in the world's beauty; she was adorned with a supernatural loveliness that was more beautiful than any secular model I have ever seen.

That's where the truly incredible part lies. Worldly beauty is only outward.... it's only something you can perceive with your physical senses. But real beauty goes beyond that. It stems from a supernatural communion with Christ himself, that is not only externally visible, but that brings life and fullness, and joy to the heart of the one who partakes in it. To quote C.S. Lewis:

"We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words - to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves... to become part of it. 

.....We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get IN."

Someday, we will be fully united with beauty in its purest form, in glory. But until then, God has miraculously scattered glimpses and promises of the coming glory in our every day lives. And beauty is one of the greatest.

Are you ready to live beyond?