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.)
The beauty of God is not distant but personal, as John 6:44 reminds us: “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.” God’s attractiveness is so strong that it works into the lives of people to provide lovely examples for us. The Bible speaks of the godly influence of Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, upon him (II Timothy 1:5). Paul considered the ministry of the Philippians to him to be like a sweet savour offering (Philippians 4:18). Such examples abound in Scripture; likewise, they abound in our lives. When I look back over the decades of my life, I see that the best influences upon me were Christians. I observed in these people (too many to mention here) a kindliness and purposefulness that drew me to consider the claims of Jesus Christ, God the Son. I could not be saved by their salvation, but their salvation could and did point me in the right direction. The beauty of God in their lives was drawing me to His preeminent beauty. May we all remember the godly folks that God has placed in our lives, and may we thank Him for their eternal impact.