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We expect the artists of our day, such as poets, composers, and painters, to point the masses to another world by exciting the senses and exposing the world to that which is beautiful. Such was the case with the biblical poets as well. The Psalmist often spoke of the amazing beauty of God. “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple” (Ps. 27:4). “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Ps. 50:2). “Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (Ps. 96:6). God himself is beautiful, and the source of all that is beautiful.
Additionally, God has asked that his creation participate with him in beauty. In Matthew 26:10, Jesus praised the woman who anointed him with ointment and helped to prepare him for his burial. He said, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” The beauty was found in sacrifice. The oil was extremely valuable and could have been sold for a substantial sum. Her willingness to humble herself and spend all on Christ was beautiful. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The willingness to sacrifice himself is what draws people to Christ (John 12:32-33; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 10:12). It seems counterintuitive to say someone brutally beaten, tortured, and murdered was participating in the most beautiful act that man has ever known, but that is exactly the case with Jesus. It is dreadful, but it is beautiful.
God also desires for his children to share good news with each other. Specifically, he wants the world to proclaim the message of his Son, Jesus. “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Rom. 10:15; Isa. 52:7). The Lord says that it is beautiful when one person shares the Gospel with another and gives them hope. God desires that his creatures seek beauty and that they participate in it.
When was the last time you participated in something truly beautiful?
Bart Warren
Glasgow, KY