“…He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…” Isaiah 53:2-3 ESV
Reflect
Different forms of beauty surround us constantly, and people tend to have different interpretations of what makes someone beautiful. The recently deceased Hugh Hefner would probably say what makes a woman beautiful is her sexual appearance—how appealing she is outwardly to the human eyes—and her body was designed to do exactly that: please men. In fact, majority of people would claim this statement to be true. As Christians, we know our physical appearance is fleeting, and we see in Isaiah 53 that even Christ’s physical beauty was not the main focus.
We want to make Christ visible. The main reason we have bodies in this world is to use them to make the beauty of Christ known, and we see this beauty in Isaiah 53:2-3. It is evident from this passage that the beauty of Christ is the beauty of love—a sacrificial, divine, and unadulterated love. The beauty of Christ is the beauty of sacrifice, not the beauty of outward appearance…and it’s a love so grand it would die for the sins of the whole world.
We see this all throughout the Bible—God looking at our hearts rather than our physical appearances. God does not demand our bodies to be like supermodels, but rather, models of mercy and grace. He wants us just as we are, whatever shape or size that may be, and embodying a sacrificial, beautiful love like Christ—a love that is founded on mercy, patience, kindness, meekness, joy, and self-control. It is the condition of our hearts that will make us truly beautiful in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. This is the one, true beauty that God cares about.
Pray
Father, thank You for giving us the perfect example of sacrificial love from Your Son. Help me to put worldly desires to the side, for I know worldly beauty is fleeting. I pray You would give me the ability to love like Christ has loved me. Amen.
Your Turn
Does your life embody true, sacrificial love, or are you more concerned with physical beauty? Take time to meditate on Proverbs 31:30.
