In
the eyes of the world, beauty is on the outside. We are hit every day with air-brushed
women in magazine ads. As young girls, we quickly learn the power that our
beauty has over young men. As women, we can use our beauty/womanhood as a
powerful weapon over the men in our lives. The movie Erin Brockovich comes to
mind. In the movie her boss asks her how she plans on getting the information
she needs out of a particular man and she responds, “They’re called boobs Ed.” I
rest my case; a woman possesses outer beauty and it is powerful. When we throw
in some tears, we can make men putty in our hands. It is powerful weapon not
always used for good.
Outer
beauty is not the only kind of beauty. We are created in the image of God, in His
idea of what beauty is. Somewhere along the line, real beauty has been
forgotten. Real beauty comes from the heart of a woman, it is found in her
gentleness, her love for others and most importantly her love for God. Real
beauty comes from putting others first. It radiates from loving hands when they
are folded in prayer or holding someone in pain. A woman who is walking with the Lord, who is
pressing into the word and who is on her knees shines real beauty, the kind of
beauty that God created us for. There is great power in that inner beauty also.
Think of Mother Teresa. She had an inner beauty and with that she changed the
lives of many. I am sure all of us have someone in our lives that we are drawn
to because of her inner beauty. We love to spend time with her because she has
something that is intoxicating about her. Her joy seems to spill out onto us
and we are blessed.
I
have a dear friend who is beautiful. She is beautiful in the eyes of the world,
she is a fitness model, and she has had several photo shoots, and has been in
commercials. Her outside beauty is hard not to notice. She is hands-down one of
the most beautiful women I have ever seen. There is more to her than her outer
beauty however, there is something about her that outshines that beautiful
exterior. It is what is inside of her. She has a new joy that radiates out of
her; there is a sparkle in her eyes. It comes from finding joy in the Lord. She
is walking in a new way with God and what flows from her now far outshines her
outer beauty. She has always had a beautiful heart but there is even more
beauty now.
She
finds her strength on her knees, hands folded before God. She is now in the
word and the loving heart I have known for so many years is even more beautiful
now that she is in a daily relationship with Christ. Every time I see her, I am
drawn to her eyes. You can see Christ in them!! I love seeing the new
fruit in her life. There is even more of gentleness in her now. She is a
perfect example of what beauty is to look like. Her inner beauty runs so deep that it outshines her worldly beauty.
Ladies,
we should all strive to have that inner beauty. I am not saying we should lay
our personal appearance to the side. It is important to stay healthy and to try
to take care of ourselves. I do want to look nice for my husband. I love
clothes, makeup and all that girly stuff that makes me feel pretty. Ladies, God
created us to be special, different from men, we each possess beauty. No matter
what size you are, no matter how perfect your hair is, make up or no make up
you are beautiful in our own way. When we add God into our beauty regiment on a
daily basis, what comes out of us is a beauty that surpasses all our outer
beauty.
Ladies,
we workout, we put on make up, we color our hair, we diet and we use one beauty
product after another to beautify ourselves but what about our hearts? Are you
beautifying your heart with Jesus? Are you into a daily beauty
regiment for your heart? Are you setting aside time with God each day?
Are you in his word? Are your hands folded in prayer? We joke
about getting our rest and beauty sleep to keep ourselves looking refreshed. That
is something that we should be doing in all areas of our life. We need to take
time to rest in the Lord. We need to let him refresh us. We put so much
time in each day to look good on the outside, so let’s try not to forget how
much more important the inner beauty is. 1 Peter 3:3-4 teaches us: Your
beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and
the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, 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. A beauty regimen based on God is free and the
results are guaranteed.
2 comments:
Excellent words! This I need to hear again and again. Thank you for writing what is on your heart.
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