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 10:14-15 speaks of the attractive power of God manifested through our evangelism. Perhaps no subject frightens Christians more than evangelism. We are concerned that we won’t articulate the Gospel clearly or that we will choose the wrong time to speak to someone. We also don’t like rejection; it is discouraging and disconcerting. Sadly, the majority do reject God’s salvation. As it was in Isaiah’s day (Isaiah 52:7 is quoted here in Romans), so it was in Paul’s and in ours. Still, we must evangelize. Weeks ago (okay, months ago), we considered how God draws us through nature (general revelation). Interestingly, Romans 10:18 quotes Psalm 19:4 regarding God’s use of the natural creation to attract people to the Creator. However, a belief in the existence of God cannot save; it can, though, begin to lead folks to the special revelation of God the Son, Jesus Christ. This is where God employs us, for evangelism is simply leading others into an eternal relationship with this beautiful Savior. Lord, make our feet strong and beautiful!