Devotional Snapshot 58 - Beauty

"Long more and more to see Jesus." Daily Help Charles H. Spurgeon December 20

Isaiah 53:2 "...He has no form (stately form) or comeliness (splendor); And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him."

1Peter 3:3,4 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward -arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather 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."

No stateliness, no splendor, no beauty. The NIV says "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him; nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him."

For all the people who feel ugly; for too short men, and too tall women, for too fat, too skinny, for the big nose, the bald head, the big feet, the big thighs, the flabby arms, eyes too small, eyes too big, wrong cheek bones, wrong eye brows, acne, crooked teeth, no teeth...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Think about Jesus, our Lord-- the God of heaven was not handsome! The scripture tells us so. There was nothing about Him that, upon seeing Him only, physically drew us to Him.

Our pictures of Him are soft and warm. Rich brown hair falling thickly around His masculine face. A big smile, teeth white and perfectly straight as if braces had been applied as a child. He seems tall, muscular, and slender. His skin is clear, His eyes are beautiful. But this is a false picture. We are told nothing about His appearance, except He was not handsome.

This is important because to God it is so unimportant -the way we look!

He tells us over and over it is not the outer it is the inner beauty He values. He said it with Saul. He said it with David. He said it to the white washed Pharisees and He said it in 1Peter about submissive Sarah and all women who would follow in her foot steps.

When will we stop looking in the mirror and comparing? When will we stop being fascinated by models, movie stars, quarter backs, and homecoming queens?

Jesus is the desire of all nations and it was not because of His good looks, but because of the perfect God centered life. The power of the Holy Spirit breaks through the skin as beautiful.

When will you and I live free of the world's chain of beauty and embrace our Lord's cord of glory?