Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me! - Ben Bailey

The wise King Solomon said, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30).  In a world where men and women are often judged by their physical beauty, it can be so easy to overlook the real beauty of life.  Both men and women are attractive in God’s eyes based on what they are, not how they look physically.  Notice these qualities of inner beauty that God desires in His children.

            First, to be beautiful in God’s sight we must possess a submissive, willing obedience to our Father.  The beauty of obedience has always been that which attracted God to His people.  For example, God destroyed the ungodly world in Noah’s day, but of Noah it is said, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen 6:8).  Likewise, our beautification will come through our obedience.  The happy person is always the one who obeys God (Rev. 22:14).  The person who wears the beautiful crown of salvation is the one who obeys God (Heb. 5:8-9).  Truly, “to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams” (I Sam. 15:22).  Are we beautiful to God by our obedience to his word, or are we stained with the ugliness of sin?

            A second way in which we can be beautiful in God’s sight is by possessing a quiet and gentle spirit.  By inspiration Peter said, “let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (I Pet. 3:4).  Although this is talking about the adorning beauty of women, it would obviously apply to all of God’s children alike.  Isn’t it interesting what God calls beauty, we often think of as cowardice or timidity?  God does not desire His people to be loud or overbearing.  God says we will be beautiful if we are “Swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath” (James 1:19-20).  Do we really possess a quiet and gentle spirit in the sight of God? 

            A third way that we become beautiful in God’s sight is through our worship of Him.  The Bible repeatedly says we are to “worship Him in the beauty of Holiness” (Ps. 29:2, P6:9).  When we worship God in the “beauty of holiness”, we ourselves begin to become beautiful.  True worship must be in holiness (Ps. 96:9).  It must be according to God’s commands (Jn. 4:24).  It must be with our inner person (I Cor. 14:15).   And, yes, it must be done with fervent emotion, excitement, and zeal (Jn. 4:24b).  Does our worship of God reflect God’s beauty in us?

            As we think about and try to become truly beautiful in God’s sight, remember, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Sam. 16:7).  Since “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” what do we look like to God?  To see we will have to turn ourselves inside out!!  The Old hymn says it best; “let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.”  --Ben Bailey