God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
God’s beauty is manifested in every way, some of which we have considered in the past weeks. John 6:44 states, “No man can come to Me, except the Father Which hath sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” This drawing power of God is best exemplified in the incarnation of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-2a says, “God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” Every word and every work of Jesus is winsome, attracting us to Him. I hesitate to single out just one thing about our Lord, but Luke 9:51 has always overwhelmed me: “And it came to pass when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus knew that He would be crucified in Jerusalem, yet He journeyed there at the appointed time. This steadfastness has always been extraordinarily appealing to me; in fact, Luke 9:51is probably the verse that I most frequently quote. No one other than the Savior would wittingly and willingly press on to death, especially this death, which was both physical and spiritual. His separation from the Father on the Cross was the second death – our second death. How can we not be attracted by Jesus’ steadfastness? We read in John 12:31-32: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me! This He said, signifying what death He should die.” The Cross of Christ is an eternal testament to His steadfastness and to His sovereign offer of salvation. Herein is beauty unexpected and unparalleled.