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.)
Romans 10:8-13 makes it plain that God powerfully manifests His beauty through our salvation. Ladies, do not ever let anyone, including our culture, convince you that you are not beautiful. Every Christian (even an old geezer like me) is a lovely work of God. We are created in His image and then recreated through God the Son, Jesus Christ. We are sinners; that is the ugly truth. Jesus is the Savior: that is also truth, beautiful truth. Whether saved out of great and gross sin or saved from that great and gross sin, we are God’s most beautiful work. There is no exaggeration to that statement, for even heaven, the immediate abode of God, is being prepared for us (John 14:1-6). Salvation is an eternal relationship with this beautiful God; He then uses that transformed reality to draw others to Himself. May the “joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:11) be demonstrated in our lives such that others will be attracted to the Savior.