Beautiful
Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Why are people averse to their being called beautiful? Is it humility? Nope. Not today. There was probably a time when people were kind of “Aw, shucks” about the reference but, now? Not so much.
For a thing to be beautiful, it will please the senses or is pleasing in the mind of another. Sure, it can be looks. But, more than that, it’s found in the leaves of Autumn or the smell of a summer rain; helping a kid with homework or holding someone’s hand, quietly, as they suffer heartbreak.
Have we forgotten how to enjoy these things as we are further engulfed by distraction and the pollution of life?
Beautiful. It’s been said that beauty is found in the eye of the beholder. I guess that’s true. But only if the beholder understands the principle. We have the ability to alter and even change the outside appearance of a person, place or things. To see the inside requires an ability and maturity that only the individual can capture.
Remember, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”. It was the lament of the younger sister who try as she might, could not match her older sibling in looks, education and ability. We are all like little sister sometimes. Judged based on an unwanted stigma that is attached to us and not of our choosing. In a spiritual sense, it is a huge part of our growth both as believers and as human beings. Think about it, even in its ugliness and with no justice served, the marks of a criminal lined our Savior as He was placed on a cross to die for sin that was not His own. Can you not see how beautiful that is?
If you need a reminder today, “YOU are beautiful.” Not just to me but to our Lord. And, His sacrifice was made for you. Not in judgment but of love.
The verses today are beautiful in their poetry, their meaning and their substance. Paul wrote these words as inspired by the Holy Spirit that his readers feel secure in the fact that God loves them. He includes life, angels, and rulers. In other words, he goes from birth to death encompassing parents, teachers, pastors, bosses and leaders, to place emphasis on his assertion that nothing, no authority, no trial and no condition, whether on earth or in heaven could ever stop God from loving us.
Praise God!
Isn’t that beautiful?
-Pastor Butch
