You Are Beautiful

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. ⁴Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."  1 Peter 3:3-4

I think that sometimes we get too focused on the outside.  I've seen these verses quoted over and over in the arena of telling people that the Bible says that we shouldn't wear jewelry or nice things.  That's silliness.  But when you really look at it, he isn't saying at all not to wear adornments.  But what he is saying is that beauty does not come from the decorations.  Beauty comes from within- the very beauty that emanates from our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives inside each and every one of us.

Oh, just think about this for a second- what a delightful picture to start my day with!  When Moses was on the mountain, spending time with God, he began to glow.  His face literally glowed from being in the presence of God- so much so, that he had to put a veil over his face when he came down the mountain.  Look! It says he was radiant!

"When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,"  Exodus 34:32-34

We don't have to wear a veil anymore.  Jesus came and made the ultimate sacrifice just for us, and in the process removed the veil.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit"  2 Corinthians 3:18

Each and every one of us who has accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior has Him dwelling inside of us- which means that we are radiant from the inside.   Sometimes we just fail to see it.  Sometimes we look in the mirror, or we watch the latest shows that tell us how to make ourselves beautiful, and the devil tells us such grand lies.  He tells us that we're ugly, or that our closet doesn't carry the latest fashions, so we think we will look dowdy as we walk out of the house.  He tells us that we're not good enough, and when we listen enough times, we maybe start to feel that way, and we shrink back.

But I'm here to say today that I AM beautiful!  And more importantly, YOU are beautiful.  You are beautiful because you are radiant from the inside.

Consider the snowflake.  God made snowflakes in such a unique way that there are no two on the earth that look alike.  Think about that- how many snowflakes does it take to fill a mountaintop- and no two are identical.  When we take the time to look at and examine snowflakes, we never, ever call them ugly.  No, really, think about that- no one ever looks at a snowflake and says "boy, that is one ugly snowflake."   Every snowflake is beautiful and unique and exquisitely made.

In the same way, YOU are exquisitely made.  You are a precious bauble that God has made just so, and He loves every single thing about you.  God thinks you are the most beautiful thing that He has ever made- and there isn't a single human being that God looks down on and says they are ugly.  They are all beautiful- but I think some even more so, because they have activated the Jesus that is inside of them.  Every human being on earth has the potential to glow for Jesus- but it isn't until that moment of asking Him into our lives that we activate Him- like flipping a switch in our DNA that says "glow for Jesus"!

There's nothing wrong with adding a few pieces of jewelry, styling hair, or wearing a touch of cosmetics on the face.  But if we think it's those things that make us beautiful, we're not really understanding where beauty comes from.  The old saying says that beauty comes from within, and that is so true- it comes from within, but it also comes from above.  God thinks you are the most beautiful being He has ever created- and He wanted you to know that today.