Why do we watch sunsets and pick flowers? What’s so alluring about the depth of the early evening sky or the pale hue of springtime tulips? Despite how different the rays of the sun are from the petals of a flower, there is something similar in the way we experience them: these things, like the sound of a harmonious chord, are inexplicably but undeniably beautiful. We are drawn to what we can only describe as beautiful.
Beauty is veiled in mystery—it eludes simple definition or explanation—and yet we all know it when we see it. We recognize beauty as we respond to it with pleasure. In the words of French philosopher Étienne Gilson, pleasure “betrays its presence.” Beauty prompts delight; delight is a response to beauty. It is no surprise, then, that all humans are drawn toward what is beautiful.
In beauty, we are seeking delight. There is something pleasing, something worthy of spontaneous wonder and joy, in a skillful work of art, an elegantly built computer program, a delicately shaped face. Do you want a life filled with delight? True delight comes not from the attainment of more—more possessions, more accomplishments, more hobbies—but from beholding and enjoying beauty. Where do we find beauty? How can we cultivate delight?
In a self-centered society obsessed with the endless refinement of our own beauty, we must fight to take our eyes off ourselves and learn to look up and out. Through the eyes of faith, we look for beauty in what God has made beautiful. We look for beauty in Christ and his gospel. We look for beauty in creation. And we look for beauty in the church.
1. Look for beauty in Christ and his gospel.
The gospel is a story about beauty. Christ does not merely come to fix a problem or pay a price. The sins he died for are more than an impersonal list of transgressions or an accumulated debt. His righteousness is more than a logical necessity. Rather, in all of its richness, the gospel is about the ugliness of sinners and the beauty of our Savior.
Sin deforms, distorts, and destroys the beauty of the image of God in man. One of the most common pictures for the relationship between God and his people is that of a marriage, making Israel’s unfaithfulness to God the equivalent of adultery: “At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring” (Ezek. 16:25). Shocking words indeed, but this is how God speaks about our sin. It turns our beauty into an abomination. Sin is not merely wrong or false or harmful, but ugly—disgusting, repulsive, and shameful. Do we see our sin—even the smallest sins, the self-centered thoughts and intentions that no one else sees—as God sees our sin? Do we recognize the ugliness of our sin?
The Bible spends ample time painting a picture of the ugliness of our sin so that we might yearn for the beauty of Christ. For Christ’s beauty is seen most clearly in his selfless love and his lowly life and death. On the cross, “his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” (Isa. 52:14). In a seeming paradox, it is in the ugly, unsightly, gruesome death of a slave upon a cross that the beautiful character of God is revealed. He has taken the ugliness of our sin upon himself and given us the beauty of his righteousness. Because of his death and resurrection, we may say that Christ, the suffering servant of Isaiah, “has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isa. 61:10). The gospel is beautiful because we see the self-giving love of God displayed in Christ.
Dear Christian, strive to know Christ and his gospel as beautiful. Feel the ugliness of your sin. Meditate on the lowliness of Christ. Pray for the eyes of faith to see him in his beauty. And respond with fresh wonder, gratitude, and delight.
2. Look for beauty in creation.
Consider how the hand of God has carefully crafted every petal and leaf, every cloud in the sky, every star and constellation. The Creator’s beauty is reflected in his creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). Jesus uses the natural world to illustrate God’s attentive care and providence: “Look at the birds of the air . . . Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow” (Matt. 6:26, 28). If we fail to seek and enjoy the beauty of his creation, we will miss out on one of the most tangible ways God has given us to delight in his beauty.
The ordinary splendors of the natural world prompt in us a self-forgetful, childlike wonder. One of my favorite places in the world is Riverside Park in New York City. I love the leaf-strewn paths in the fall and the blooming cotton-candy trees in the spring. I love the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches above. And so I think about the trees in the park often. No one relies on them for food or shelter. God did not make them for any practical, utilitarian purpose, but to display his beauty. No two trees are identical, but each reflects a slightly different beauty—and as the source of all these little intricacies, how much more varied and manifold must the beauty of God be!
Nature is saying something about the Lord and his character. The question is whether we are patient enough to watch and wait. Fight to slow down. Take a walk. Notice the details. Look, listen, and learn. Remember, in the words of a hymn:
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
3. Look for beauty in the church.
Every believer, as a member of the bride of Christ, is destined for beauty. Christ lovingly sanctifies his people “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). This is the ultimate end of all that we do in the church: preaching, prayer, singing, serving, fellowship. Progressive sanctification is progressive beautification. We reflect the beauty of Christ as we grow in humble, selfless love.
And so we should often see the character of God shining brightly through our brothers and sisters at church. This is different from the outward beauty sought after by the world—this is not the kind of beauty that fades with age or the kind of beauty that can coexist with an unloving heart. What is beautiful in God’s eyes is the exaltation of Christ out of a heart of selfless love. The woman who pours a costly flask of ointment on Jesus’ head is not scolded for wasting money, but honored: “For she has done a beautiful thing to me” (Matt. 26:10). The beauty of the church is seen in our willingness to give sacrificially and cheerfully from a genuine love for Jesus. Do we delight in the beauty of generous giving and serving? The more we see servant-hearted humility as beautiful in God’s eyes, the more we will delight in the often unglamorous work of ministry.
Our words reveal what we value. Do you comment on the appearance of your church facility more than the abiding glory of Christ proclaimed in faithful preaching? Do you talk about the musical talent of your church’s worship team more than the truth of the gospel rehearsed in song? Do you compliment others’ outward beauty more than their inward beauty? Pleasant church facilities, talented worship teams, and even outer beauty are good things, but what makes the church distinctly beautiful is the proclamation and exaltation of Christ. Look for this quiet beauty.
For as we see as God sees, we will behold the beauty of his church, his creation, and his gospel. And as we behold the beauty of what the Lord finds delightful, what he has adorned in his wisdom and glory, we will learn to look for and rejoice in the eternal beauty of the Lord: “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty” (Isa. 33:17).
Photo Credit: Dorne Marting