I do a fair amount of teaching at a local college. This actually goes hand in hand with my role as a Methodist pastor; the two occupations seem to make use of the same public speaking ability. As a teacher, I attended an Adult Literacy conference a few weeks ago, and one of the guest speakers was a young woman named Lilian Okech. She was an immigrant from the Sudan who created a successful cleaning business here in the United States. Through hard work and determination, Lilian battled the typical discrimination that immigrants face in our country and formed a viable business in spite of those roadblocks.
She spoke eloquently and with passion about how our education system has the opportunity to make or break aspiring students. At one point, she told a story of how one of her teachers told her she was "smart and beautiful." Lilian said that this phrase stuck in her mind from the time she was young, and helped guide her through the rest of her life. May we all hope for teachers like this.
So at this point I want to take a break from everything going on in the world today, and let the reader know that God thinks you are beautiful also. The book of Genesis says that you and I are created in God's image, and that we are to have dominion over the Earth and everything in it. This is no small feat by the way. In fact, the Lord views us as His children in several ways.
John 15:12-13 says, "My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." We remember here that Jesus was foreshadowing his own death and crucifixion on the cross - the ultimate loving sacrifice given freely to humankind. God sacrifices for His people until it hurts (both literally and figuratively). As I have said before, we are beautiful in His eyes.
1 Peter 3:3-4 states, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry and 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." God's spirit inside of us is of innumerable value, and Peter compares it here with unfading beauty. Have I mentioned lately that God loves us?
All of these wonderful Scriptures do not, however, mean that God also loves our sin. We may be created in His image, but when we do things we ought not to, it isn't beautiful in God's eyes at all. Remember the Bible states that our bodies are like temples, designed to project and reflect His light. Contrast this with people engaging in behaviors such as spiritual pride or blasphemy for example, and we have a whole new problem.
So how do we bridge that gap between beauty and sin? The answer is simple, but not easy. God's restitution plan for us is to believe in Jesus, and repent of our sin. If we accept Christ's death on the cross and believe that God raised him from the dead, we will be participating in the great atonement. This isn't easy because in order to come to Christ, we must first accept our own shortcomings and ask for forgiveness. And I don't mean the backhanded, excuse-laden false apology either ... I'm talking about asking for real forgiveness.
There is an old teaching mantra that I have become familiar with recently. It says: I do it, we do it, you do it. If we connect these three concepts with Scripture, I believe we can begin to paint a picture of grace and beauty here on Earth.
"I do it" can equate to God's Word. He has said it, and then He validated what He said through both miracles and action. We need only read it and acknowledge it. This is where we put our thinking caps on, and attempt to understand what the Lord has put down for us in writing. In other words, we study the textbook.
"We do it" matches up with the idea of discipleship. In a faithful church, there should always be some sort of Sunday School or small group acting to help disciple (or make followers of) Jesus and his teachings. It isn't a solo proposition; it requires people working together in tandem with God to increase their faith.
Finally, "you do it" refers to the mature Christian. They have read the Word, they have been discipled themselves, and are now living and walking in obedience. A 'you do it' Christain is someone who is probably discipling someone else in their life, or at least passing on the faith to people willing to listen. It isn't a journey without God of course, but rather the ability to begin living out the faith in a way that others can learn from. They have mastered soft food (as Paul would say), and have moved on to solids.
We are beautiful in God's eyes in the sense that Jesus saves us and redeems us. When God looks at the born-again believer, He sees the reflection of Christ's light in them. But understand this also, God loves those for whom salvation has not yet occurred as well. All life originates from the Creator, and as such, all life is precious and beautiful.
Please don't stop here. Go that extra step and seek out a relationship with the one that created you. Don't forgo the potential you have to walk closely with the carpenter from Nazareth. It's a different kind of fulfillment; better than what the regular world offers. It is - dare I say - beautiful.
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